Altria (MO) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

Altria (MO) closed the most recent trading day at $46.99, moving -0.72% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.2%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker had gained 0.66% over the past month. This has outpaced the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 1% and lagged the S&P 500's gain of 3.28% in that time.

MO will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be July 29, 2021. On that day, MO is projected to report earnings of $1.17 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 7.34%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $5.38 billion, up 6.2% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.58 per share and revenue of $21.24 billion, which would represent changes of +5.05% and +1.91%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for MO. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. 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 ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. MO is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Digging into valuation, MO currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 10.33. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 11.54.

Investors should also note that MO has a PEG ratio of 2.58 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. MO's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.93 as of yesterday's close.

The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 112, which puts it in the top 45% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order 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.

To follow MO in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.

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