Altria (MO) closed the most recent trading day at $57.26, moving -0.45% from the previous trading session. This move was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 2.24%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 1.73%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 3.07%.
The the stock of owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker has fallen by 1.41% in the past month, lagging the Consumer Staples sector's gain of 1.31% and overreaching the S&P 500's loss of 4.17%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Altria in its upcoming release. The company plans to announce its earnings on April 29, 2025. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.17, up 1.74% from the prior-year quarter. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $4.64 billion, reflecting a 1.67% fall from the equivalent quarter last year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $5.28 per share and a revenue of $20.36 billion, demonstrating changes of +3.13% and -0.41%, respectively, from the preceding year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Altria should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. 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, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 0.68% decrease. At present, Altria boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, Altria is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 10.89. This expresses no noticeable deviation compared to the average Forward P/E of 10.89 of its industry.
It is also worth noting that MO currently has a PEG ratio of 3.36. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Tobacco industry held an average PEG ratio of 3.05.
The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 90, placing it within the top 37% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.
Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming 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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