Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Up 1.1% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) were up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $55.13 and last traded at $55.05. Approximately 1,553,347 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 9,772,687 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.33.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.3 %

The stock has a market cap of $93.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.09.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The company’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company 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 is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.36%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MO. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter worth $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 63.9% in the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.