Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Up 1.1% – Time to Buy?

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s share price traded up 1.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $51.74 and last traded at $51.70. 2,086,248 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 6,193,173 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

Altria Group Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $54.38 and its 200 day moving average is $51.91. The company has a market cap of $87.83 billion, a PE ratio of 8.76, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.87%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MO. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth about $41,000. Fairman Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% during 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 period. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 330.4% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

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.