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Altria (MO) Stock Moves -0.57%: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Altria (MO - Free Report) closed at $50.27, marking a -0.57% move from the previous day. This move was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.9%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.58%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.93%.

Coming into today, shares of the owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker had gained 0.32% in the past month. In that same time, the Consumer Staples sector gained 1.77%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.3%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from MO as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be January 30, 2020. In that report, analysts expect MO to post earnings of $1.01 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 6.32%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $4.90 billion, up 2.32% from the year-ago period.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for MO. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable 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 past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.11% lower. MO is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).

Investors should also note MO's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 11.47. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 11.82, so we one might conclude that MO is trading at a discount comparatively.

Meanwhile, MO's PEG ratio is currently 1.79. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. MO's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.79 as of yesterday's close.

The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 179, which puts it in the bottom 30% 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.

To follow MO in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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