Short Interest in Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR) Decreases By 22.7%

Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,890,000 shares, a decrease of 22.7% from the August 15th total of 6,330,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,990,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 3.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on VGR. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Vector Group in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays increased their target price 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 Trading Up 0.2 %

Vector Group stock opened at $14.94 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.40 and a 200-day moving average of $11.65. Vector Group has a 52 week low of $9.27 and a 52 week high of $15.53.

Vector Group (NYSE:VGR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $371.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.90 million. Vector Group had a negative return on equity of 26.96% and a net margin of 14.05%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vector Group will post 1.22 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Vector Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vector Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Vector Group by 0.5% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 183,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,944,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Vector Group by 0.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 357,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Vector Group by 3.0% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 39,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Vector Group by 8.3% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Vector Group by 3.1% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 44,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $475,000 after buying an additional 1,346 shares during the period. 64.09% of the stock is currently 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.