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Here's Why Altria (MO) Gained But Lagged the Market Today

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Altria (MO - Free Report) closed the latest trading day at $42.11, indicating a +0.21% change from the previous session's end. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.27%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.43%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.19%.

Shares of the owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker witnessed a gain of 3.12% over the previous month, trailing the performance of the Consumer Staples sector with its gain of 4.85% and the S&P 500's gain of 6.94%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Altria in its upcoming release. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $1.17, signifying a 0.85% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $5.09 billion, up 0.16% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $4.96 per share and revenue of $20.57 billion. These totals would mark changes of +2.48% and -0.58%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Altria should also be noted by investors. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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 varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.06% higher. At present, Altria boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at valuation, Altria is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 8.48. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 9.26.

We can additionally observe that MO currently boasts a PEG ratio of 2.79. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Tobacco industry held an average PEG ratio of 2.53.

The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 92, which puts it in the top 37% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.


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