Altria Group (MO) Competitors

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) and Altria Group (NYSE:MO) are both large-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, dividends, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability and community ranking.

Does the media prefer PM or MO?

In the previous week, Altria Group had 1 more articles in the media than Philip Morris International. MarketBeat recorded 41 mentions for Altria Group and 40 mentions for Philip Morris International. Philip Morris International's average media sentiment score of 1.39 beat Altria Group's score of 1.12 indicating that Philip Morris International is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Philip Morris International	33 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Altria Group	27 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	10 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is PM or MO more profitable?

Altria Group has a net margin of 46.90% compared to Philip Morris International's net margin of 7.89%. Philip Morris International's return on equity of -120.08% beat Altria Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Philip Morris International	7.89%	-120.08%	15.76%
Altria Group	46.90%	-258.72%	25.16%

Do analysts recommend PM or MO?

Philip Morris International presently has a consensus target price of $166.33, suggesting a potential downside of 4.46%. Altria Group has a consensus target price of $56.00, suggesting a potential downside of 6.43%. Given Philip Morris International's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Philip Morris International is more favorable than Altria Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Philip Morris International	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.90
Altria Group	2 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Is PM or MO a better dividend stock?

Philip Morris International pays an annual dividend of $5.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Altria Group pays an annual dividend of $4.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.8%. Philip Morris International pays out 111.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Altria Group pays out 68.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Philip Morris International has raised its dividend for 17 consecutive years and Altria Group has raised its dividend for 56 consecutive years. Altria Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has better valuation & earnings, PM or MO?

Altria Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Philip Morris International. Altria Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Philip Morris International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Philip Morris International	$38.39B	7.06	$7.06B	$4.85	35.90
Altria Group	$20.25B	4.98	$11.26B	$5.97	10.03

Do insiders and institutionals believe in PM or MO?

78.6% of Philip Morris International shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.4% of Altria Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Philip Morris International shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Altria Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor PM or MO?

Altria Group received 40 more outperform votes than Philip Morris International when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 68.35% of users gave Altria Group an outperform vote while only 57.95% of users gave Philip Morris International an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Philip Morris International	Outperform Votes 813 57.95%	Underperform Votes 590 42.05%
Altria Group	Outperform Votes 853 68.35%	Underperform Votes 395 31.65%

Which has more risk and volatility, PM or MO?

Philip Morris International has a beta of 0.5, meaning that its share price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Altria Group has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Altria Group beats Philip Morris International on 11 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.