Altria Group (NYSE:MO)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by Zacks in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, AR Network reports. They currently have a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks‘ price target indicates a potential upside of 5.77% from the company’s current price.
Zacks‘ analyst wrote, “Altria’s second-quarter 2013 earnings of $0.62 per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.6% due to lower-than-expected revenues. Revenues declined 1.2% year over year and also missed Zacks Estimate due to lower shipment volumes of smokeable products. Moreover, the inflated prices of Altria’s premium brands due to an unfavorable excise tax environment are pressurizing the company’s margins. Higher fees associated with litigations and FDA’s anti-smoking campaigns pose significant overhangs. Despite the negatives, we have faith in the company’s long term fundamentals. Altria’s brands command a major retail share in the industry. Moreover, its efforts to adapt to the evolving needs of consumers and develop less harmful alternative tobacco products are positive. Also, the company’s entry into the growing e-cigarette category is viewed fairly by us. The company is well on track to achieve its cost reduction. Thus, we prefer to remain Neutral on the stock with a target price of $37.00. “
MO has been the subject of a number of other recent research reports. Analysts at TheStreet reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Altria Group (NYSE:MO) in a research note to investors on Tuesday, September 3rd.
Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.00.
Altria Group (NYSE:MO) traded up 0.68% on Wednesday, hitting $35.2165. 5,508,272 shares of the company’s stock traded hands. Altria Group has a 1-year low of $30.01 and a 1-year high of $37.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $34.77 and its 200-day moving average is $35.35. The company has a market cap of $70.503 billion and a P/E ratio of 15.99.
Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Altria Group will post $2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which is scheduled for Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 12th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44.
Altria Group, Inc is a holding company. At December 31, 2012, Altria Group, Inc’s direct and indirect wholly owned subsidiaries included Philip Morris USA Inc (NYSE:MO), which is engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and certain smokeless products in the United States; John Middleton Co (Middleton), which is engaged in the manufacture and sale of machine-made cigars and pipe tobacco, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of PM USA; and UST LLC (UST), which through its direct and indirect wholly owned subsidiaries, including U.
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