The latest trading session saw Altria (MO) ending at $56.32, denoting a +1.37% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 9.52%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 7.87%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 12.16%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker had lost 4.45% over the past month. This has was narrower than the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 6.53% and the S&P 500's loss of 13.47% in that time.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Altria in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on April 29, 2025. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $1.17, signifying a 1.74% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $4.66 billion, down 1.23% from the prior-year quarter.

MO's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $5.32 per share and revenue of $20.29 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +3.91% and -0.74%, respectively.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Altria should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. Altria presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Altria is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 10.45. This expresses no noticeable deviation compared to the average Forward P/E of 10.45 of its industry.

One should further note that MO currently holds a PEG ratio of 3.2. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Tobacco was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.88 at yesterday's closing price.

The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 92, placing it within the top 38% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.

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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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