Altria Group (MO) Set to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) will be issuing its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, April 25th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.15 per share for the quarter. Altria Group has set its FY24 guidance at $5.00-5.15 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS.Parties that wish to listen to the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Altria Group to post $5 EPS for the current fiscal year and $5 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $41.09 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $48.04.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 85.78%.

Altria Group declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.