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Altria (MO) Stock Declines While Market Improves: Some Information for Investors

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Altria (MO - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $56.71, demonstrating a -1.63% swing from the preceding day's closing price. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.16%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.01%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.46%.

Shares of the owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker witnessed a gain of 4.34% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Consumer Staples sector with its loss of 0.69% and the S&P 500's loss of 3.59%.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Altria in its upcoming earnings disclosure. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $1.19, marking a 3.48% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $4.66 billion, indicating a 1.11% downward movement from the same quarter last year.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5.32 per share and a revenue of $20.48 billion, representing changes of +3.91% and +0.18%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Altria. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. Altria presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, Altria is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 10.84. This signifies no noticeable deviation in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 10.84 for its industry.

We can additionally observe that MO currently boasts a PEG ratio of 3.07. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. Tobacco stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.82 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 78, finds itself in the top 32% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


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