Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group (NYSE:MO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Wednesday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a buy rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday. UBS Group reaffirmed a sell rating and set a $36.10 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $46.82.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.3 %

MO stock opened at $43.66 on Wednesday. Altria Group has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $48.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.99 billion, a PE ratio of 9.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The company had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.98%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% in the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

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.