Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Releases Earnings Results, Hits Estimates

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15, Yahoo Finance reports. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. Altria Group updated its FY 2024 guidance to 5.050-5.170 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $5.05-$5.17 EPS.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock opened at $43.37 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s 50-day moving average is $42.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.47. Altria Group has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $48.04.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Altria Group announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

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.