Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $56.64 and last traded at $56.38, with a volume of 952667 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $56.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MO. UBS Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.33.

Altria Group Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $95.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50-day moving average is $51.79 and its 200 day moving average is $49.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 63.9% in the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

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.