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

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In the latest trading session, Altria (MO - Free Report) closed at $42.66, marking a +0.99% move from the previous day. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.5%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.12%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.23%.

Shares of the owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker witnessed a loss of 4.22% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Consumer Staples sector with its loss of 6.27% and underperforming the S&P 500's loss of 2.4%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Altria in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on October 26, 2023. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $1.29, marking a 0.78% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $5.49 billion, up 1.43% from the year-ago period.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5 per share and a revenue of $20.84 billion, representing changes of +3.31% and +0.72%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Altria. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.09% lower. At present, Altria boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at valuation, Altria is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 8.45. This denotes a discount relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 8.5.

We can additionally observe that MO currently boasts a PEG ratio of 2.26. 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 average PEG ratio for the Tobacco industry stood at 2.16 at the close of the market yesterday.

The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 228, finds itself in the bottom 10% 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.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.


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