Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Given “Buy” Rating at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus restated their buy rating on shares of Altria Group (NYSE:MO) in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a $50.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a sell rating and issued a $36.10 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $46.82.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $43.62 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $41.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.54. Altria Group has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $48.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.99%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.78%.

Altria Group declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 103.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors 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.