The most recent trading session ended with Altria (MO) standing at $57.81, reflecting a -0.58% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.49%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.22%.
The owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker's stock has climbed by 7.99% in the past month, exceeding the Consumer Staples sector's gain of 4.53% and the S&P 500's loss of 8.15%.
The upcoming earnings release of Altria will be of great interest to investors. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $1.19, indicating a 3.48% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $4.66 billion, down 1.11% from the year-ago period.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5.32 per share and a revenue of $20.48 billion, representing changes of +3.91% and +0.18%, respectively, from the prior year.
Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for Altria. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.
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.
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. Over the past month, there's been a 0.02% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. As of now, Altria holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at valuation, Altria is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 10.94. This represents no noticeable deviation compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 10.94.
One should further note that MO currently holds a PEG ratio of 3.09. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Tobacco industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.84.
The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 155, this industry ranks in the bottom 39% of all industries, numbering over 250.
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.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
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Altria Group, Inc. (MO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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