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Altria (MO) Sees a More Significant Dip Than Broader Market: Some Facts to Know

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Altria (MO - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $68.17, moving -1.03% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.58% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 1.18%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.32%.

The owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker's shares have seen an increase of 5.1% over the last month, surpassing the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 0.95% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.36%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Altria in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on October 29, 2026. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.5, showcasing a 3.45% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $5.33 billion, indicating a 1.49% upward movement from the same quarter last year.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $5.67 per share and a revenue of $20.61 billion, demonstrating changes of +4.61% and +2.35%, respectively, from the preceding year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Altria. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.

Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. 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. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an unchanged state. Altria presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note Altria's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 12.14. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 14.34, so one might conclude that Altria is trading at a discount comparatively.

Also, we should mention that MO has a PEG ratio of 2.44. 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 2.01 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 237, placing it within the bottom 4% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered 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.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.

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