Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Monday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.17.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO traded up $0.01 on Monday, hitting $53.88. 7,670,370 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,897,328. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $51.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.57. Altria Group has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $54.95. The firm has a market cap of $91.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Altria Group will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% during the 2nd 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. Fairman Group LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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