Altria (MO) closed the latest trading day at $59.36, indicating a +0.08% change from the previous session's end. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.53% loss on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.26%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 0.83%.
Shares of the owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker have depreciated by 2.63% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Consumer Staples sector's gain of 1.44% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.17%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Altria in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on July 30, 2025. On that day, Altria is projected to report earnings of $1.37 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 4.58%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $5.21 billion, down 1.33% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.39 per share and revenue of $20.15 billion. These totals would mark changes of +5.27% and -1.43%, respectively, from last year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Altria. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.18% lower. As of now, Altria holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
With respect to valuation, Altria is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 11.01. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 11.01, which means Altria is trading at no noticeable deviation to the group.
We can additionally observe that MO currently boasts a PEG ratio of 3.46. 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 3.04.
The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 71, putting it in the top 29% 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.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding 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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