Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on MO. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. 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. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.17.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO opened at $54.18 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.44 billion, a PE ratio of 9.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $51.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.66. Altria Group has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $54.95.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Delta Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.9% during the second quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in Altria Group by 3.5% in the third quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zhang Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% in the third quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 18,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $942,000 after buying an additional 202 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.