In the latest trading session, Altria (MO) closed at $57.60, marking a -2.34% move from the previous day. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.03% for the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.04%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.09%.
Heading into today, shares of the owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker had gained 0.49% over the past month, outpacing the Consumer Staples sector's gain of 0.15% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 2.57%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Altria in its forthcoming earnings report. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $1.3, marking a 0.78% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $5 billion, down 2.04% from the year-ago period.
MO's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $5.44 per share and revenue of $20.08 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +6.25% and -1.8%, respectively.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Altria. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical 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 remained stagnant within the past month. Altria is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Looking at valuation, Altria is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 10.85. This indicates a discount in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 12.57.
Also, we should mention that MO has a PEG ratio of 3.35. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. MO's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.81 as of yesterday's close.
The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 33, finds itself in the top 14% echelons of all 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.
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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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