Vector Group (NYSE:VGR) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

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

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

Vector Group Stock Performance

Shares of Vector Group stock opened at $14.99 on Friday. Vector Group has a fifty-two week low of $9.27 and a fifty-two week 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. The company has a fifty day moving average of $14.97 and a 200 day moving average of $12.74.

Vector Group Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vector Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VGR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Vector Group by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,309,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,829,000 after buying an additional 198,893 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Vector Group by 3.3% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Vector Group by 6.4% during the 1st 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, Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vector Group by 72.9% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 691,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,304,000 after acquiring an additional 291,404 shares during the last quarter. 64.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.