Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Earns Underperform Rating from Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in a research report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued an underperform rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on MO. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.75.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $58.26. 7,029,744 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,632,622. The stock's fifty day moving average is $59.30 and its 200 day moving average is $56.55. The stock has a market cap of $98.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group has a 1-year low of $46.54 and a 1-year high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a net margin of 43.09% and a negative return on equity of 295.44%. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.00%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.34%.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 0.6% in the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,581,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 4.2% in the first quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.5% in the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 12,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 2.7% in the first quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,762 shares of the company's stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.