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The most recent trading session ended with Altria (MO) standing at $46.02, reflecting a -0.17% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.1%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.08%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.28%.

The the stock of owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker has fallen by 1.28% in the past month, leading the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 2% and undershooting the S&P 500's gain of 4.08%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Altria in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on July 31, 2024. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $1.35, signifying a 3.05% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $5.39 billion, indicating a 0.84% decline compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.11 per share and revenue of $20.4 billion. These totals would mark changes of +3.23% and -0.51%, respectively, from last year.

Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Altria. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.

Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.02% lower within the past month. Altria is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

In the context of valuation, Altria is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 9.02. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 9.02, which means Altria is trading at no noticeable deviation to the group.

Investors should also note that MO has a PEG ratio of 2.8 right now. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Tobacco industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.86.

The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 52, finds itself in the top 21% echelons of all 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.

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

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