Altria (MO) Outperforms Broader Market: What You Need to Know

The latest trading session saw Altria (MO) ending at $51.86, denoting a +1.37% adjustment from its last day's close. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 1%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.78%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 1.51%.The owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker's stock has dropped by 3.45% in the past month, exceeding the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 5.65% and lagging the S&P 500's loss of 2.14%.The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Altria in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on January 30, 2025. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1.28, reflecting an 8.47% increase from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $5.04 billion, indicating a 0.29% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Altria. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.24% higher. Altria currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Altria has a Forward P/E ratio of 9.6 right now. This indicates no noticeable deviation in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 9.6.Meanwhile, MO's PEG ratio is currently 2.69. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Tobacco stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.32 based on yesterday's closing prices.The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 173, positioning it in the bottom 32% of all 250+ industries.The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.Just Released: Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2025Hurry – you can still get in early on our 10 top tickers for 2025. Handpicked by Zacks Director of Research Sheraz Mian, this portfolio has been stunningly and consistently successful. From inception in 2012 through November, 2024, the Zacks Top 10 Stocks gained +2,112.6%, more than QUADRUPLING the S&P 500’s +475.6%. Sheraz has combed through 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank and handpicked the best 10 to buy and hold in 2025. You can still be among the first to see these just-released stocks with enormous potential. See New Top 10 Stocks >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Altria Group, Inc. (MO): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks