Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR) Short Interest Update

Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,890,000 shares, a drop of 22.7% from the August 15th total of 6,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,990,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 3.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vector Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Truist Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Vector Group during the 2nd quarter worth $193,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Vector Group in the second quarter worth about $693,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Vector Group by 112.6% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 9,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 5,110 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vector Group by 72.9% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 691,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,304,000 after purchasing an additional 291,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vector Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $260,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VGR. Barclays lifted their target price on Vector Group from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Vector Group in a report on Sunday, September 8th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company.

Vector Group Price Performance

Vector Group stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $14.94. 2,180,858 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,414,229. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.64. The firm has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 1.04. Vector Group has a 12 month low of $9.27 and a 12 month high of $15.53.

Vector Group (NYSE:VGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.04. Vector Group had a net margin of 14.05% and a negative return on equity of 26.96%. The business had revenue of $371.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.90 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vector Group will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Vector Group Announces Dividend

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 $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.35%. Vector Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.97%.

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.