Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Upgraded by Bank of America to “Buy” Rating

Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group (NYSE:MO) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $65.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $55.00.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on MO. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.33.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $57.32 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.41. The stock has a market cap of $97.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.63. Altria Group has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Altria Group will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% in the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.