Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group (NYSE:MO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.33.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $54.28 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $51.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.70. Altria Group has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $55.05.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The business’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.52%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 68.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 305,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,603,000 after acquiring an additional 40,574 shares during the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 4.2% during the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,476,000 after purchasing an additional 10,079 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,456,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,330,000 after buying an additional 32,318 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 7.2% in the first quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 14,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $669,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.