Federated Hermes Inc. Increases Holdings in Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR)

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 183,913 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 935 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.12% of Vector Group worth $1,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Vector Group by 0.3% during the second 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 increased its holdings in Vector Group by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 39,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Vector Group by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vector Group by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 44,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Vector Group by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 67,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $711,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VGR. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Vector Group from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com started coverage on Vector Group in a report on Monday, September 16th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock.

Vector Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VGR opened at $14.92 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $13.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86 and a beta of 1.04. Vector Group Ltd. has a one year low of $9.27 and a one year 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.04. Vector Group had a negative return on equity of 26.96% and a net margin of 14.05%. The business had revenue of $371.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.90 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vector Group Ltd. will post 1.22 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.36%. Vector Group’s dividend payout ratio is 68.97%.

Vector Group 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.