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

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Vector Group (NYSE:VGR) in a report released on Saturday. The firm set a “buy” rating on the stock.

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

Vector Group Price Performance

NYSE VGR opened at $14.98 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.38. Vector Group has a one year low of $9.27 and a one year high of $15.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 1.03.

Vector Group (NYSE:VGR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.04. Vector Group had a negative return on equity of 26.62% and a net margin of 14.05%. The business had revenue of $371.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.90 million. Equities analysts expect that Vector Group will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vector Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optimist Retirement Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Vector Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $949,000. Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Vector Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $900,000. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Vector Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $527,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vector Group by 27.9% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 130,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 28,476 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.