Altria (MO) closed at $57.75 in the latest trading session, marking a -3.01% move from the prior day. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.61%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.49%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.95%.
The stock of owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker has risen by 1.67% in the past month, leading the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 0.78% and undershooting the S&P 500's gain of 3.85%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Altria in its upcoming release. The company plans to announce its earnings on July 30, 2025. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.36, showcasing a 3.82% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $5.23 billion, indicating a 0.98% decline compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $5.37 per share and a revenue of $20.22 billion, demonstrating changes of +4.88% and -1.1%, respectively, from the preceding year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Altria. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable 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, there's been no change in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Currently, Altria is carrying a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
With respect to valuation, Altria is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 11.09. This valuation marks no noticeable deviation compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 11.09.
Investors should also note that MO has a PEG ratio of 3.49 right now. 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 was holding an average PEG ratio of 3.03 at yesterday's closing price.
The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 90, which puts it in the top 37% of all 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.
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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