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Altria (MO) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Altria (MO - Free Report) closed at $43.53, marking a -1.29% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.22%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.83%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.56%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker had gained 3.59% over the past month. This has outpaced the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 2.27% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.54% in that time.

Altria will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be October 26, 2023. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.30, up 1.56% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $5.49 billion, up 1.43% from the prior-year quarter.

MO's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $5 per share and revenue of $20.84 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +3.31% and +0.72%, respectively.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Altria should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

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, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.23% higher. Altria is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Digging into valuation, Altria currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 8.81. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 9.38.

Meanwhile, MO's PEG ratio is currently 2.35. 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 was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.18 at yesterday's closing price.

The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 176, putting it in the bottom 31% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. 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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