Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires 8,300 Shares of Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Oct 8th, 2023

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR – Free Report) by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,600 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,300 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Vector Group were worth $892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Vector Group by 4.6% in the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 20,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 884 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Vector Group by 0.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,882,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,704,000 after buying an additional 17,549 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Vector Group by 7.0% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 117,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,412,000 after buying an additional 7,672 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in Vector Group by 8.6% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 34,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 2,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Vector Group by 66.4% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 75,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $910,000 after buying an additional 30,139 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.41% of the company’s stock.

Vector Group Stock Up 1.8 %

VGR opened at $10.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $10.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.91. Vector Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $8.84 and a twelve month high of $14.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 1.10.

Vector Group (NYSE:VGR – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.01). Vector Group had a net margin of 11.09% and a negative return on equity of 21.19%. The company had revenue of $365.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $408.20 million. As a group, analysts expect that Vector Group Ltd. will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Vector Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.41%. Vector Group’s payout ratio is 79.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Vector Group in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on VGR

Insider Activity

In related news, insider J Bryant Kirkland III acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $10.32 per share, with a total value of $103,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 450,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,650,429.36. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 7.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Vector Group

(Free Report)

Vector Group Ltd., through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cigarettes in the United States. It operates in two segments, Tobacco and Real Estate. The company produces cigarettes under the EAGLE 20's, Pyramid, Montego, Grand Prix, Liggett Select, Eve, and USA brand names, as well as various partner and private label brands.