Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Makes New $59,000 Investment in Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 5,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Vector Group by 252.3% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 6,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 4,325 shares during the last quarter. Somerset Trust Co bought a new position in Vector Group during the 2nd quarter worth $110,000. SpiderRock Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vector Group in the first quarter worth $112,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Vector Group in the second quarter valued at $116,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Vector Group by 87.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 11,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 5,503 shares during the period. 64.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VGR. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Vector Group in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on Vector Group from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th.

Vector Group Stock Performance

Shares of VGR opened at $14.91 on Monday. Vector Group Ltd. has a one year low of $9.27 and a one year high of $15.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $14.15 and its 200-day moving average is $11.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 1.04.

Vector Group (NYSE:VGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $371.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.90 million. Vector Group had a net margin of 14.05% and a negative return on equity of 26.96%. Analysts forecast that Vector Group Ltd. will post 1.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vector Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.37%. 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.