Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $40.95 on Friday. Altria Group has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $48.04. The firm has a market cap of $70.34 billion, a PE ratio of 8.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.44.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 21,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $987,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Finally, Day & Ennis LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.9% in the third quarter. Day & Ennis LLC now owns 5,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 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.