Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the eight ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $56.00.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MO. UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $59.74 on Friday. Altria Group has a 1-year low of $43.83 and a 1-year high of $61.26. The business's fifty day moving average price is $58.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.11. The company has a market capitalization of $100.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.12, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. Altria Group's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Altria Group will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

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.

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