Vector Group (NYSE:VGR) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Vector Group (NYSE:VGR) in a report published on Tuesday. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the stock.

Separately, Barclays upped their price target on Vector Group from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th.

Vector Group Price Performance

Shares of VGR stock opened at $14.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $14.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.91. The firm has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.86 and a beta of 1.04. Vector Group has a 1-year low of $9.27 and a 1-year high of $15.53.

Vector Group (NYSE:VGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.04. Vector Group had a negative return on equity of 26.96% and a net margin of 14.05%. The business had revenue of $371.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.90 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vector Group will post 1.22 EPS for the current year.

Vector Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.36%. Vector Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vector Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Vector Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,868,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,844,000 after buying an additional 283,371 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Vector Group by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,309,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,829,000 after acquiring an additional 198,893 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Vector Group by 3.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,216,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,993,000 after buying an additional 103,633 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vector Group by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,181,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,946,000 after acquiring an additional 70,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its position in shares of Vector Group by 72.9% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 691,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,304,000 after purchasing an additional 291,404 shares during the period. 64.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Vector Group

Vector Group Ltd., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the United States. It operates in two segments, Tobacco and Real Estate. The company produces cigarettes under the Montego, EAGLE 20’s, Pyramid, Grand Prix, Liggett Select, Eve, and USA brand names, as well as various partner and private label brands.