Vector Group (NYSE:VGR) Earns Strong-Buy Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

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

Separately, Barclays boosted 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 Price Performance

NYSE VGR opened at $14.99 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.77. Vector Group has a 12 month low of $9.27 and a 12 month high of $15.53. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 1.04.

Vector Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.34%. Vector Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vector Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Vector Group by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,868,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,844,000 after buying an additional 283,371 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position 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 valued at $87,829,000 after purchasing an additional 198,893 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position 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 valued at $33,993,000 after purchasing an additional 103,633 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 70,685 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC raised its position 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 valued at $7,304,000 after purchasing an additional 291,404 shares during the period. 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.