Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. Altria Group updated its FY 2025 guidance to 5.300-5.450 EPS.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE MO traded up $0.34 on Wednesday, reaching $59.11. 13,417,667 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,795,168. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.94 billion, a PE ratio of 9.02, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. Altria Group has a one year low of $43.37 and a one year high of $60.18. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $57.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.72.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's payout ratio is 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup increased 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.57.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Altria Group stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 64.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,702 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.