Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Issues FY24 Earnings Guidance

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) updated its FY24 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided EPS guidance of $5.07-5.15 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $5.10. Altria Group also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 5.070-5.150 EPS.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded down $0.59 on Friday, reaching $53.87. The company had a trading volume of 10,986,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,304,533. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $51.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.43. Altria Group has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $54.95. The firm has a market cap of $91.91 billion, a PE ratio of 9.10, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.02. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.57%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.17.

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.