Philip Morris International (PM) Competitors

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) and Altria Group (NYSE:MO) are both large-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, community ranking, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and earnings.

Is PM or MO more profitable?

Altria Group has a net margin of 46.90% compared to Philip Morris International's net margin of 7.89%. Philip Morris International's return on equity of -120.08% beat Altria Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Philip Morris International	7.89%	-120.08%	15.76%
Altria Group	46.90%	-258.72%	25.16%

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in PM or MO?

Altria Group received 44 more outperform votes than Philip Morris International when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 68.54% of users gave Altria Group an outperform vote while only 57.84% of users gave Philip Morris International an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Philip Morris International	Outperform Votes 808 57.84%	Underperform Votes 589 42.16%
Altria Group	Outperform Votes 852 68.54%	Underperform Votes 391 31.46%

Which has more risk & volatility, PM or MO?

Philip Morris International has a beta of 0.46, indicating that its stock price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Altria Group has a beta of 0.54, indicating that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is PM or MO a better dividend stock?

Philip Morris International pays an annual dividend of $5.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Altria Group pays an annual dividend of $4.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.1%. Philip Morris International pays out 119.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Altria Group pays out 62.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Philip Morris International has increased its dividend for 17 consecutive years and Altria Group has increased its dividend for 56 consecutive years. Altria Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do institutionals and insiders believe in PM or MO?

78.6% of Philip Morris International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.4% of Altria Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Philip Morris International shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Altria Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, PM or MO?

Altria Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Philip Morris International. Altria Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Philip Morris International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Philip Morris International	$37.88B	6.47	$7.06B	$4.51	34.93
Altria Group	$20.44B	4.73	$11.26B	$6.55	8.73

Do analysts recommend PM or MO?

Philip Morris International currently has a consensus price target of $145.44, indicating a potential downside of 7.67%. Altria Group has a consensus price target of $54.00, indicating a potential downside of 5.58%. Given Altria Group's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Altria Group is more favorable than Philip Morris International.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Philip Morris International	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80
Altria Group	2 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Does the media prefer PM or MO?

In the previous week, Philip Morris International had 13 more articles in the media than Altria Group. MarketBeat recorded 58 mentions for Philip Morris International and 45 mentions for Altria Group. Philip Morris International's average media sentiment score of 1.35 beat Altria Group's score of 1.14 indicating that Philip Morris International is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Philip Morris International	45 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Altria Group	36 Very Positive mention(s)	6 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Altria Group beats Philip Morris International on 11 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.