Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Altria (MO) Stock Moves -0.13%: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

In the latest trading session, Altria (MO - Free Report) closed at $54.92, marking a -0.13% move from the previous day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.2%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.12%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker had lost 0.72% over the past month. This has lagged the Consumer Staples sector's gain of 1.2% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.27% in that time.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Altria in its upcoming release. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $1.28, signifying an 8.47% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $5.04 billion, up 0.29% from the year-ago period.

MO's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $5.12 per share and revenue of $20.38 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +3.43% and -0.61%, respectively.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Altria. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of 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. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.

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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.1% higher within the past month. Altria is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

In the context of valuation, Altria is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 10.75. This denotes no noticeable deviation relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 10.75.

One should further note that MO currently holds a PEG ratio of 3.03. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Tobacco industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.63 as of yesterday's close.

The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 222, placing it within the bottom 12% of over 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.

Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Altria Group, Inc. (MO) - free report >>

Published in