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Altria (MO) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know

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Altria (MO - Free Report) closed at $52.25 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.1% move from the prior day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.04% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.58%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.18%.

Heading into today, shares of the owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker had lost 0.12% over the past month, outpacing the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 4.17% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 2.67% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Altria as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be April 28, 2022. On that day, Altria is projected to report earnings of $1.10 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 2.8%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $4.8 billion, down 1.6% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $4.84 per share and revenue of $20.91 billion. These totals would mark changes of +4.99% and -0.95%, respectively, from last year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Altria. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest 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. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.21% lower. Altria is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note Altria's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 10.69. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 10.02.

Investors should also note that MO has a PEG ratio of 2.67 right now. 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. Tobacco stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.21 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 244, putting it in the bottom 4% 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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