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

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Vector Group (NYSE:VGR) in a report released on Friday. The brokerage issued a strong-buy rating on the stock.

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

Vector Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VGR opened at $14.99 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50-day moving average is $14.80 and its 200-day moving average is $12.35. 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 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.90 million. Analysts anticipate that Vector Group will post 1.22 EPS for the current year.

Vector Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Vector Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.97%.

Institutional Trading of Vector Group

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