Altria (MO) Advances While Market Declines: Some Information for Investors

Altria (MO) ended the recent trading session at $64.62, demonstrating a +1.32% change from the preceding day's closing price. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 1.74% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 1.01%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 2.38%.

The owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker's stock has dropped by 8.49% in the past month, exceeding the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 10.41% and lagging the S&P 500's loss of 4.99%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Altria in its upcoming release. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $1.25, marking a 1.63% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $4.56 billion, reflecting a 0.99% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.

Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $5.61 per share and revenue of $20.17 billion, indicating changes of +3.51% and +0.15%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Altria. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical 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 has shifted 0.13% upward. Altria is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

With respect to valuation, Altria is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 11.37. This denotes a discount relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 12.46.

It is also worth noting that MO currently has a PEG ratio of 2.72. 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 was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.88 at yesterday's closing price.

The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 216, finds itself in the bottom 12% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. 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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