StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Vector Group (NYSE:VGR)

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Vector Group (NYSE:VGR) in a research report released on Sunday morning. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the stock.

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

Vector Group Stock Performance

Shares of VGR opened at $14.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $13.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.59. The stock has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 1.04. Vector Group has a one year low of $9.27 and a one year high of $15.53.

Vector Group (NYSE:VGR) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $371.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.90 million. Analysts predict that Vector Group will post 1.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vector Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Vector Group’s payout ratio is presently 68.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vector Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Optimist Retirement Group LLC acquired a new stake in Vector Group during the fourth quarter valued at $949,000. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in Vector Group during the first quarter worth approximately $900,000. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Vector Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $527,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $12,946,000 after buying an additional 70,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Vector Group by 27.9% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 130,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,431,000 after buying an additional 28,476 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.09% of the company’s stock.

Vector Group Company Profile

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.