Natixis Advisors LLC Has $475,000 Stock Position in Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR) by 3.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,984 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,346 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vector Group were worth $475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Vector Group by 70.1% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 90,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 37,408 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Vector Group by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,160,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,654,000 after acquiring an additional 90,202 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Vector Group during the fourth quarter worth $276,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Vector Group by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 36,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 2,297 shares during the period. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP raised its stake in shares of Vector Group by 113.7% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 25,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 13,595 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.09% of the company’s stock.

Vector Group Price Performance

VGR stock opened at $14.94 on Friday. Vector Group Ltd. has a one year low of $9.27 and a one year high of $15.53. The stock has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.64.

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

Vector Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Vector Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VGR shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Vector Group from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Vector Group in a research report on Sunday, September 8th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock.

Vector Group 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.