Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Stock

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus raised Philip Morris International’s price target from $205 to $232 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying 11.36% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: 10 analysts rate the stock a Buy and two rate it a Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $212.40.
• Philip Morris exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.36 in EPS and $11.44 billion in revenue, with revenue up 5.5% year over year.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $205.00 to $232.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus's price objective points to a potential upside of 11.36% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on PM. Barclays boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised Philip Morris International from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Argus lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $193.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.40.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:PM opened at $208.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $324.72 billion, a PE ratio of 30.41, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.34. Philip Morris International has a 1 year low of $142.11 and a 1 year high of $214.35. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $194.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.14.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.73% and a negative return on equity of 183.96%. The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.24 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International will post 8.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 620 shares of the company's stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Hughes Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 719 shares of the company's stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Platt Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Platt Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,833 shares of the company's stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Security Financial Services INC. boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 2.2% during the third quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 2,978 shares of the company's stock worth $568,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,798 shares of the company's stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Company Profile

Philip Morris International Inc NYSE: PM is a global tobacco and nicotine company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. It was established as an independent company in 2008 following the separation of Philip Morris International from Altria Group. The company develops, manufactures and markets tobacco, nicotine and other related consumer products primarily outside the United States.

Its portfolio includes internationally recognized cigarette brands such as Marlboro, Parliament, L&M, Chesterfield and Bond Street.

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