Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Price Target Lowered to $68.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) had its price objective dropped by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $72.00 to $68.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price suggests a potential upside of 13.76% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.56.

Altria Group Trading Down 5.3%

MO stock opened at $59.78 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $59.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.72. Altria Group has a 52 week low of $50.08 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The company has a market cap of $100.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.47.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 319.43% and a net margin of 37.89%.Altria Group’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $299,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $844,000. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in Altria Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 573,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,065,000 after buying an additional 3,750 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 60,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,580,000 after acquiring an additional 13,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 5,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Altria Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Altria Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management issued 2026 EPS guidance of 5.56–5.72, which sits around sell‑side expectations and signals confidence that price increases and cost discipline will support profit growth. Altria forecasts 2026 profit above estimates (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: UBS lifted Altria’s price target and kept a buy rating, which can attract buyers and temper downside after the quarter. UBS lifts price target (MSN)
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend and capital return remain supportive: management reiterated dividend growth and continued buybacks; the company highlights on! pouch growth and integration of NJOY as potential offset to cigarette declines. This underpins income investor demand. Is Altria becoming more than an income stock? (MarketBeat)
• Neutral Sentiment: Top‑line was essentially stable: Q4 revenue (~$5.08B) was roughly in line with expectations even as EPS was flat year‑over‑year, suggesting resilient pricing but limited near‑term growth upside. Q4 and FY2025 results (BusinessWire)
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate governance update: the board expanded and named Salvatore Mancuso as a director; this is notable but not an immediate earnings driver. Board expansion and new director (TipRanks)
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 EPS missed estimates by $0.02 and cigarette shipment volumes declined — smokeable revenue weakness remains the main headwind despite price increases. That volume trend is the key near‑term risk to organic growth. Earnings fall short amid lower cigarette sales (AP) Q4 earnings lag estimates (Zacks)
• Negative Sentiment: Balance‑sheet/metrics watch: company filings flagged leverage levels and public summaries showed a negative reported ROE (driven by accounting and capital returns), which may worry some investors focused on capital structure and credit metrics. Filings highlight leverage (TipRanks)

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.