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

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) had its target price lowered by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $72.00 to $68.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 13.76% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on MO. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.56.

Altria Group Stock Down 5.3%

Shares of MO opened at $59.78 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $100.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.47. Altria Group has a 52-week low of $50.08 and a 52-week high of $68.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $59.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.72.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). The company 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal 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 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally 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 made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Country Trust Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 334.7% in the second quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Key Altria Group News

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)

About Altria Group

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.