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Altria (MO) closed the latest trading day at $47.08, indicating a +0.32% change from the previous session's end. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.88%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.08%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.95%.

Heading into today, shares of the owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker had gained 2.31% over the past month, outpacing the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 0.67% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 5.11% in that time.

The upcoming earnings release of Altria will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on July 31, 2024. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.35, up 3.05% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $5.39 billion, indicating a 0.84% decrease compared to the same quarter of the previous 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. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. 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.

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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.02% downward. Altria presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Altria is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 9.18. This expresses no noticeable deviation compared to the average Forward P/E of 9.18 of its industry.

It is also worth noting that MO currently has a PEG ratio of 2.86. 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 the market closed yesterday, the Tobacco industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.88.

The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 58, finds itself in the top 24% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.

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