Stifel Nicolaus Issues Positive Forecast for Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) had its target price hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $54.00 to $60.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

MO has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.17.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.1 %

MO traded down $0.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $53.87. 10,986,246 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,907,085. The business’s 50 day moving average is $51.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.38. Altria Group has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $54.95. The stock has a market cap of $91.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.29, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairman Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is 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.