Citigroup Boosts Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Price Target to $48.00

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) had its target price lifted by Citigroup from $44.50 to $48.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on MO. UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $50.17.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $49.67 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.58 and a 200-day moving average of $47.47. The firm has a market cap of $84.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.21%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MO. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its stake in Altria Group by 49.1% in the first quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 2,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,027,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,960,000 after purchasing an additional 16,541 shares in the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 4.2% in the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,476,000 after purchasing an additional 10,079 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 7.2% during the first quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, &PARTNERS bought a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter valued at about $556,000. Hedge funds and other 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.