Analysts Set Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Target Price at $51.33

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $51.33.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Barclays upped their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group upped 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Waverly Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 97.5% in the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 35,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 17,499 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 10.5% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 195,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,510,000 after buying an additional 18,482 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 14.4% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 91,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,948,000 after buying an additional 11,546 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 38.4% in the 1st quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 14,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 57.1% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 201,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,804,000 after purchasing an additional 73,310 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO opened at $57.18 on Tuesday. Altria Group has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $58.03. The company has a market cap of $96.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.66, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.63. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.16.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Altria Group

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.