Reviewing Japan Tobacco (OTCMKTS:JAPAF) & Altria Group (NYSE:MO)

Japan Tobacco (OTCMKTS:JAPAF) and Altria Group (NYSE:MO) are both consumer defensive companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, risk and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Japan Tobacco and Altria Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Japan Tobacco	N/A	N/A	N/A
Altria Group	27.40%	-225.61%	24.54%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Japan Tobacco and Altria Group’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Japan Tobacco	N/A	N/A	N/A	$225.55	0.10
Altria Group	$20.70 billion	3.84	$5.76 billion	$3.81	11.75

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

24.7% of Japan Tobacco shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.9% of Altria Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Altria Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Japan Tobacco pays an annual dividend of $79.71 per share and has a dividend yield of 369.3%. Altria Group pays an annual dividend of $3.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.8%. Japan Tobacco pays out 35.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Altria Group pays out 102.9% 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 14 consecutive years. Japan Tobacco is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Japan Tobacco and Altria Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Japan Tobacco	0	0	0	0	N/A
Altria Group	1	2	2	0	2.20

Altria Group has a consensus target price of $47.50, indicating a potential upside of 6.15%. Given Altria Group’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Altria Group is more favorable than Japan Tobacco.

Summary

Altria Group beats Japan Tobacco on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Japan Tobacco

Japan Tobacco Inc., a tobacco company, manufactures and sells tobacco products, pharmaceuticals, and processed foods in Japan and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Tobacco Business, Pharmaceutical, and Processed Food. It offers tobacco products, such as cigarettes, heat-not-burn tobacco products, E-vapor products, fine cut tobacco products, cigars, pipes, smokeless tobacco products, and hookah and kretek products. The company also provides reduced-risk products, including infused tobacco capsules and heated tobacco sticks. In addition, it researches and develops, manufactures, and sells prescription drugs for the therapeutic areas, such as cardiovascular, kidney and metabolism, immunity/inflammation, and central nervous system. Further, the company provides frozen and room-temperature products, such as frozen udon noodles, packed rice, and frozen okonomiyaki; bakery products; and seasonings, including yeast extracts, assembled, kelp and bonito extracts, and oyster sauces. It offers its products under the Winston, Camel, MEVIUS, and LD brands. Japan Tobacco Inc. was incorporated in 1985 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company provides cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; cigars and pipe tobacco principally under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco products and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; and on! oral nicotine pouches. It sells its tobacco products primarily to wholesalers, including distributors; and large retail organizations, such as chain stores. The company was founded in 1822 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.