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Altria (MO) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Altria (MO - Free Report) closed at $47.58, marking a +0.83% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.93%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker had lost 4.96% over the past month. This has lagged the Consumer Staples sector's gain of 4.64% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.84% in that time.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from MO as it approaches its next earnings report date. This is expected to be April 29, 2021. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.04, down 4.59% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $4.99 billion, down 1.12% from the year-ago period.

MO's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $4.56 per share and revenue of $21.4 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +4.59% and +2.68%, respectively.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for MO. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.25% lower within the past month. MO is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Looking at its valuation, MO is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 10.77. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 12.28.

Meanwhile, MO's PEG ratio is currently 2.69. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Tobacco industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.96 as of yesterday's close.

The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 112, which puts it in the top 45% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow MO in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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