Altria (MO) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know
Altria (MO) closed at $46.87 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.06% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.04% loss on the day.
Coming into today, shares of the owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker had lost 4.19% in the past month. In that same time, the Consumer Staples sector lost 0.04%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.35%.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from MO as it approaches its next earnings report date. This is expected to be July 29, 2021. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.17, up 7.34% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $5.4 billion, up 6.58% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $4.57 per share and revenue of $21.4 billion. These totals would mark changes of +4.82% and +2.67%, respectively, from last year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for MO. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.32% lower within the past month. MO is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Looking at its valuation, MO is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 10.36. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 11.7, which means MO is trading at a discount to the group.
Investors should also note that MO has a PEG ratio of 2.59 right now. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Tobacco was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.04 at yesterday's closing price.
The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 214, which puts it in the bottom 16% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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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