Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Earns Buy Rating from Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus reiterated their buy rating on shares of Altria Group (NYSE:MO) in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $50.00 target price on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on MO. UBS Group reaffirmed a sell rating and set a $36.10 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $46.82.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:MO opened at $43.66 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.99 billion, a PE ratio of 9.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.34 and a 200-day moving average of $41.53. Altria Group has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $48.04.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The business’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group will post 5.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.78%.

Altria Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.