In the latest trading session, Altria (MO) closed at $57.75, marking a +1.83% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.12%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.31%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 2.04%.

Shares of the owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker have appreciated by 1.27% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 1.81% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.91%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Altria in its forthcoming earnings report. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $1.19, signifying a 3.48% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $4.66 billion, showing a 1.11% drop compared to the year-ago quarter.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $5.32 per share and a revenue of $20.48 billion, indicating changes of +3.91% and +0.18%, respectively, from the former year.

Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Altria. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an unchanged state. Altria is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

From a valuation perspective, Altria is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 10.66. This signifies no noticeable deviation in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 10.66 for its industry.

Investors should also note that MO has a PEG ratio of 3.02 right now. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Tobacco industry held an average PEG ratio of 2.81.

The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 166, placing it within the bottom 34% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.

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Altria Group, Inc. (MO) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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