Barclays Raises Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Price Target to $49.00

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by investment analysts at Barclays from $46.00 to $49.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "underweight" rating on the stock. Barclays's price target points to a potential downside of 17.79% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $59.60. 7,021,684 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,785,569. Altria Group has a twelve month low of $43.44 and a twelve month high of $60.18. The stock has a market cap of $100.76 billion, a PE ratio of 9.10, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $57.61 and a 200 day moving average of $54.88.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 226.3% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.