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Philip Morris (PM) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Philip Morris (PM - Free Report) closed at $100.94, marking a -1.69% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.2%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 1.1%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 2.86%.

Coming into today, shares of the seller of Marlboro and other cigarette brands had gained 5% in the past month. In that same time, the Consumer Staples sector gained 1.13%, while the S&P 500 lost 4.77%.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from Philip Morris as it approaches its next earnings report date. In that report, analysts expect Philip Morris to post earnings of $1.30 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 3.7%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $7.45 billion, down 8.06% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.80 per share and revenue of $30.6 billion. These totals would mark changes of -4.61% and -2.56%, respectively, from last year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Philip Morris. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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.

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 remained stagnant within the past month. Philip Morris currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Investors should also note Philip Morris's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 17.71. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 9.44, so we one might conclude that Philip Morris is trading at a premium comparatively.

Also, we should mention that PM has a PEG ratio of 3.54. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Tobacco industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.97 as of yesterday's close.

The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 17, putting it in the top 7% 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 PM in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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