Altria (MO) Rises But Trails Market: What Investors Should Know
In the latest trading session, Altria (MO) closed at $41.55, marking a +0.24% move from the previous day. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 1.03%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.34%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.51%.
The owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker's stock has climbed by 2.96% in the past month, exceeding the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 0.65% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 3.21%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Altria in its upcoming release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.16, down 1.69% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $4.73 billion, down 0.62% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $5.07 per share and a revenue of $20.58 billion, demonstrating changes of +2.42% and +0.36%, respectively, from the preceding year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Altria should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. 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.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 0.36% decrease. Altria is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Looking at valuation, Altria is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 8.18. This valuation marks no noticeable deviation compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 8.18.
Meanwhile, MO's PEG ratio is currently 2.5. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The Tobacco industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.65 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 89, placing it within the top 36% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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Altria Group, Inc. (MO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
