Yahoo Finance Altria (MO) Ascends While Market Falls: Some Facts to Note
In the latest trading session, Altria (MO) closed at $42.09, marking a +1.91% move from the previous day. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.88%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.56%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 2.05%.
Heading into today, shares of the owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker had lost 8.12% over the past month, lagging the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 3.55% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.57% in that time.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Altria in its upcoming release. The company plans to announce its earnings on April 25, 2024. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1.15, reflecting a 2.54% decrease from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $4.71 billion, indicating a 1.11% decrease compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $5.09 per share and a revenue of $20.58 billion, indicating changes of +2.83% and +0.36%, respectively, from the former year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Altria. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-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. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
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 past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.1% upward. Altria presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In the context of valuation, Altria is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 8.12. This denotes no noticeable deviation relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 8.12.
Investors should also note that MO has a PEG ratio of 2.48 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Tobacco industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.56 as of yesterday's close.
The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 63, finds itself in the top 25% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.
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Altria Group, Inc. (MO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
