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

Altria (MO) closed at $41.95 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.04% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500’s daily loss of 1.15%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.52%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.34%.

Coming into today, shares of the owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation’s largest cigarette maker had lost 15.16% in the past month. In that same time, the Consumer Staples sector lost 1.02%, while the S&P 500 lost 5.08%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Altria as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be July 28, 2022. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.25, up 1.63% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $5.4 billion, down 3.88% from the year-ago period.

MO’s full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $4.83 per share and revenue of $20.83 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +4.77% and -1.32%, respectively.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Altria. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.18% lower within the past month. Altria is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note Altria’s current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 8.6. This represents a discount compared to its industry’s average Forward P/E of 8.96.

Meanwhile, MO’s PEG ratio is currently 2.15. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company’s expected earnings growth rate. MO’s industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.52 as of yesterday’s close.

The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 48, putting it in the top 20% 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.