Altria (MO) closed at $71.59 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.68% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.81%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.27%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 1.3%.
Coming into today, shares of the owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker had lost 0.44% in the past month. In that same time, the Consumer Staples sector gained 3.31%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.13%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Altria in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on July 30, 2026. In that report, analysts expect Altria to post earnings of $1.5 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 4.17%. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $5.35 billion, showing a 1.06% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.7 per share and revenue of $20.53 billion. These totals would mark changes of +5.17% and +1.96%, respectively, from last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Altria should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
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 last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 0.29% increase. As of now, Altria holds a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Looking at valuation, Altria is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 12.78. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 12.78, which means Altria is trading at no noticeable deviation to the group.
Also, we should mention that MO has a PEG ratio of 2.72. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Tobacco industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.19.
The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 213, finds itself in the bottom 14% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.
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Altria Group, Inc. (MO): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).