According to a report by Stock Target Advisor, Altria Group, Inc. (MO:NYE) has received a “Hold” consensus rating from the ten brokerages that currently cover the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts who have updated their coverage on Altria stock in the past year is $47.58.
Altria Stock-Analysts Ratings:
A number of equities research analysts have also issued reports on the Altria stock. Morgan Stanley increased its price objective on the shares from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave Altria stock an “equal weight” rating. Meanwhile, Stifel Nicolaus assigned a “buy” rating and a $52.00 price objective to the stock. Citigroup reduced its price objective on the shares from $49.50 to $47.00 and assigned a “neutral” rating.
Hedge Funds & Institutional Holdings:
Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 4.3% during the first quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp purchased a new position in the company in the same quarter, while Shelton Capital Management and RMB Capital Management LLC raised their holdings by 8.0% and 18.2%, respectively. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE also raised its holdings by 100.0%. In total, institutional investors now own 58.68% of Altria stock.
Altria Stock Price Analysis:
On Friday, the stock opened at $45.67. The company has a 52-week low of $40.35 and a 52-week high of $54.89, with a market cap of $81.52 billion. The company’s price-to-earnings ratio is 14.68, with a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.59.
Quarterly Earnings Review:
The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the first quarter of 2023, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.01. The company had a negative return on equity of 245.43% and a net margin of 22.44%. The business’s revenue was $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. Analysts expect the company to post 5.06 EPS for the current year.
Altria Stock Dividend:
Finally, the company recently declared a quarterly dividend, paying shareholders of record on March 24th a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was March 23rd, and this represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.23%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 120.90%.
Company Profile:
Altria Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company provides cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; cigars and pipe tobacco principally under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco products and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; and on! oral nicotine pouches.
It sells its tobacco products primarily to wholesalers, including distributors; and large retail organizations, such as chain stores. The company was founded in 1822 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.
