Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $53.33.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MO. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.85 on Friday, hitting $53.84. The company had a trading volume of 27,044,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,944,697. Altria Group has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $58.03. The company has a market cap of $91.25 billion, a PE ratio of 9.09, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.12.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.58%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group's payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% during the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

About Altria Group

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.