Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) had its price target raised by research analysts at Citigroup from $52.00 to $55.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 5.63% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.00.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE MO opened at $58.28 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $57.19 and its 200-day moving average is $54.57. Altria Group has a 12-month low of $43.37 and a 12-month high of $60.18. The company has a market capitalization of $98.53 billion, a PE ratio of 8.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Altria Group

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.