Altria Group Inc. [NYSE:MO] shares are showing an active tape with a current price of $38.97 on Friday.
Altria Group Inc. is in the Consumer Defensive sector under the Tobacco industry. This week, we are watching the stock hit price per sales of 2.97 with an earning per share of -0.46.
For the year, the stock is trading -20.18% and the five-day change stands at -8.60%. As a point of reference, the S&P 500 is trading -2.49% YTD.
The Bears are coming
Holding a Market Cap of $75.93 billion, Altria Group Inc. has seen a trading range over the last year of $30.95-$51.78.
For the last five days, MO is down from its last closing price. The average shares trading hands each day is 7.70M, with average 10-day volume coming in at 11.7 million.
Using a Force Index Indicator is a good way to look at how strong actual buying and selling pressure is for MO. When we apply the Elder Force Index to Altria Group Inc., we are seeing an Elder Force Indicator number of -2393231.67.
Recent Performance
The recent performance of the stock is another area that can tell traders how to proceed. MO is presenting an interesting case. This can be seen in the Forward P/E ratio, which currently stands at 8.74. Moreover, the company’s enterprise value has gone from $97.30B to $97.79B quarter-over-quarter. This could be an inflection point for the company, but either way we believe you should be adding them to your watchlist.
In the last quarter, MO made a profit of 3.29 billion. Altria Group Inc. also saw quarter revenue growth year over year of 0.86%. In addition, the company has operating cash flow of $10.39 billion.
Technical Analysis
Looking at popular technical indicators, the company’s 5-day moving average is 40.84 compared to the 50-day moving average of 42.87. So, traders might want to tread carefully if they are going to bid.
The Relative Strength Index or RSI is an indicator ranging between 0 and 100 that traders use to determine if a stock is “overbought” or “oversold.” A strong uptrend tending to reach into the “overbought” status is above 70, while a downward trend will stay around the 30 mark. MO currently holds a 9-day RSI of 17.82%, while 100-day RSI stands at 47.03%.
Another indicator we believe is worth keeping tabs on is the Moving Average Convergence Divergence or MACD. Similar to the concept of the Force Index — on the basis of price momentum — the MACD gives traders a tool to measure the turning point of a stock even during rapid fluctuations in price. Buy and sell signals are determined by a stock’s relation to the zero line, so if a stock is above a zero line for many weeks it might be a “buy.” On the other hand, if a stock is below the zero line consistently, it might be one to stay away from. Also, if the MACD line reaches a peak and dips, its momentum may be waning. MO’s 9-day MACD is -2.10 and the company’s 100-day MACD stands at -0.77.
Inside Moves
Another area that is important to analyze is insider moves and majority shareholders. While this is not always an error-free way to tell what the future holds for a stock, you can maybe gather important information from reading the tea leaves about who is buying and selling.
The major holders for this stock are 0.10% by insiders and 64.19% by institutions. Regarding institutional holdings, Vanguard Group, Inc. (The) owns 8.23%, while the second top holder, Blackrock Inc., currently owns 7.76%.
Conclusion
Overall, the recommended rating for MO is Moderate Buy. Currently, the company has 11 analysts watching the stock, and the average quarterly earnings estimate is 1.14. Quarterly revenue estimates are averaging 5.47B with the high estimate reaching 5.7B and the low at 5.37B.
To review, the current 1-year target estimate is sitting at 49.00, while the current price 38.97. Based on this, we expect the stock to rise considering the aforementioned fundamentals.
