Altria Group Inc (MO)

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Earnings Previews: Altria
By: 24/7 Wall St. | January 25, 2022

Here is a look at four firms scheduled to report results first thing Thursday morning.

Altria

The maker and distributor of Marlboro cigarettes, Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) has added about 27% to its share price over the past 12 months. The stock dropped sharply between September and late November but has risen by about 18% since then. Cigarettes are both inflation-proof and high dividend payers. Sad, perhaps, but true.

Sentiment on the company is positive, but not strong. Twelve of 18 analysts have put a Hold rating on the stock while the other six have rated the shares a Buy or Strong Buy. At a recent price of around $49.40 per share, the upside potential based on a median price target of $51.50 is about 4.3%. At the high price target of $68, the upside potential is nearly 37.7%.

Fourth-quarter revenue is forecast at $5.0 billion, down 9.6% sequentially and down 1% year over year. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) are forecast to come in at $1.08, down 11.2% sequentially and up about 10% year over year. For the full 2021 fiscal year, Altria is expected to report EPS of $4.61, up about 5.7%, on sales of $21.04 billion, up 1%.

Altria stock trades at about 10.7 times expected 2021 EPS, 10.2 times estimated 2022 earnings of $4.84 and 9.6 times estimated 2023 earnings of $5.37 per share. The stock’s 52-week range is $40.46 to $52.59, and Altria pays an annual dividend of $3.60 (yield of 7.21%). Total shareholder return over the past year is 26.5%.

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