Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Up 0.7% – Still a Buy?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares traded up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $50.34 and last traded at $50.19. 1,331,475 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 9,999,922 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.20.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $85.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.63.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 85.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 154.4% during the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Company Profile

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.