In the latest market close, Altria (MO) reached $58.55, with a +1.28% movement compared to the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.91%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 1.5%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 1.96%.

The the stock of owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker has risen by 8.38% in the past month, leading the Consumer Staples sector's gain of 3.05% and the S&P 500's loss of 7.38%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Altria in its upcoming release. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.19, showcasing a 3.48% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $4.66 billion, indicating a 1.11% decline compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $5.32 per share and a revenue of $20.48 billion, signifying shifts of +3.91% and +0.18%, respectively, from the last year.

Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to 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.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.02% higher. Altria is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at valuation, Altria is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 10.87. This indicates no noticeable deviation in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 10.87.

One should further note that MO currently holds a PEG ratio of 3.07. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Tobacco industry held an average PEG ratio of 2.82.

The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 160, placing it within the bottom 37% of over 250 industries.

The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming 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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