Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price

Key Points

• Barclays has raised its price target for Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00, indicating potential downside and maintaining an "underweight" rating on the stock.
• Altria Group's stock is currently trading at $63.23, having increased by 1.1%, with projected earnings per share of $5.32 for the current fiscal year.
• The company's consensus rating stands at "Hold" with a target price estimate of $59.13, reflecting mixed analyst opinions on its stock performance.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by investment analysts at Barclays from $49.00 to $57.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "underweight" rating on the stock. Barclays's price objective would suggest a potential downside of 11.23% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup upped their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.13.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.0%

Altria Group stock traded up $0.66 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $64.21. 5,433,128 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,586,698. The business's 50 day moving average is $59.72 and its 200 day moving average is $57.78. Altria Group has a 52 week low of $48.86 and a 52 week high of $64.35. The company has a market capitalization of $107.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.42, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Altria Group will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,816 shares of the company's stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the company's stock worth $1,581,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 5,656 shares of the company's stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,172 shares of the company's stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners II LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Company Profile

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.