Vector Group (NYSE:VGR) Now Covered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Vector Group (NYSE:VGR) in a note issued to investors on Thursday. The brokerage set a “strong-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 company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th.

Vector Group Stock Performance

Shares of VGR opened at $14.99 on Thursday. Vector Group has a twelve month low of $9.27 and a twelve month high of $15.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.19.

Vector Group (NYSE:VGR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $371.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.90 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Vector Group will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Vector Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Vector Group by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,868,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,844,000 after purchasing an additional 283,371 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vector Group by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,309,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,829,000 after buying an additional 198,893 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of 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. increased 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 buying an additional 70,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased 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 buying an additional 291,404 shares during the last quarter. 64.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.