Point72 DIFC Ltd Boosts Holdings in Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR)

Point72 DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR) by 48.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,705 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,498 shares during the quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Vector Group were worth $145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Vector Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 183,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,944,000 after buying an additional 935 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Vector Group by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 357,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,781,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Vector Group by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 39,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 1,160 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Vector Group by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vector Group by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 44,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 1,346 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VGR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Vector Group in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on 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 Price Performance

NYSE VGR opened at $14.92 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.86 and a beta of 1.04. Vector Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $9.27 and a 1-year high of $15.53. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.91.

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

Vector Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 5.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Vector Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.97%.

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.