Altria (MO) closed at $71.41 in the latest trading session, marking a -2.35% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.75%. At the same time, the Dow added 1.86%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 2.54%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker had gained 2.22% outpaced the Consumer Staples sector's gain of 1.72% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.63%.
The upcoming earnings release of Altria will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on July 30, 2026. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.48, up 2.78% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $5.35 billion, up 1.06% from the year-ago period.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $5.68 per share and revenue of $20.53 billion, indicating changes of +4.8% and +1.96%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Altria. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 0.12% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. At present, Altria boasts a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
In terms of valuation, Altria is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 12.87. This valuation marks no noticeable deviation compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 12.87.
We can additionally observe that MO currently boasts a PEG ratio of 2.74. 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 2.11 at the close of the market yesterday.
The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 216, which puts it in the bottom 12% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming 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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Altria Group, Inc. (MO): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).