Altria (MO) closed at $66.65 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.96% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.38%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.67%.
Heading into today, shares of the owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker had lost 0.61% over the past month, outpacing the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 4.81% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 4.06%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Altria in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on October 30, 2025. In that report, analysts expect Altria to post earnings of $1.44 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 4.35%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $5.31 billion, down 0.68% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.43 per share and revenue of $20.2 billion. These totals would mark changes of +6.05% and -1.18%, respectively, from last year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Altria. 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 business outlook.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable 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).
In terms of valuation, Altria is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 12.05. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 12.35, which means Altria is trading at a discount to the group.
Meanwhile, MO's PEG ratio is currently 3.52. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The average PEG ratio for the Tobacco industry stood at 3.52 at the close of the market yesterday.
The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 167, this industry ranks in the bottom 33% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.
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Altria Group, Inc. (MO): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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