Philip Morris International (PM) Competitors

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

Does the MarketBeat Community favor MO or PM?

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

Does the media prefer MO or PM?

In the previous week, Altria Group had 3 more articles in the media than Philip Morris International. MarketBeat recorded 43 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 news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Altria Group	27 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	11 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
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

Is MO or PM 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
Altria Group	46.90%	-258.72%	25.16%
Philip Morris International	7.89%	-120.08%	15.76%

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in MO or PM?

57.4% of Altria Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.6% of Philip Morris International shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Altria Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Philip Morris International shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has better valuation and earnings, MO or PM?

Altria Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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
Altria Group	$20.25B	4.98	$11.26B	$5.97	10.03
Philip Morris International	$38.39B	7.06	$7.06B	$4.85	35.90

Which has more risk and volatility, MO or PM?

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

Is MO or PM a better dividend stock?

Altria Group pays an annual dividend of $4.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.8%. Philip Morris International pays an annual dividend of $5.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Altria Group pays out 68.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. 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 has raised its dividend for 56 consecutive years and Philip Morris International has raised its dividend for 17 consecutive years. Altria Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts prefer MO or PM?

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

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

Summary

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