August 15, 2024
Top 10 Stock Altria Group Buy Recommendation
How to read the ranks
For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".
Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".
Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.
Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.
(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).
(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.
Snapshot: Altria Group – Top 10 Stock in Employee Satisfaction Leaders in the United States
Altria Group is listed as a top 10 stock on August 15, 2024 in the market index Employee Focus US because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. While only half of the consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit above-average performance, the professional market sentiment is positive and it may be a solid investment proposition, especially if a growth recovery is to be expected soon. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 52 (high 52% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall buy recommendation for Altria Group on August 15, 2024.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | USA |
| Industry | Tobacco |
| Index | Dividends USA, Employee Focus US, Diversity USA, Human Rights, Recycling, S&P US Consumer, S&P 500 |
| Size class | XX-Large |
When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).
For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).
360° View: Obermatt 360° View Altria Group Buy
| 360 METRICS | August 15, 2024 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 86 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 29 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 21 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 71 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 52 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 52 (better than 52% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock Altria Group are above average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with half the metrics below and half above average for Altria Group. The consolidated Value Rank has an attractive rank of 86, which means that the share price of Altria Group is on the lower side compared with the typical size in indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. This means that the stock price is lower than for 86% of alternative stocks in the same industry. The consolidated Sentiment Rank has a good rank of 71, which means that professional investors are more optimistic about the stock than for 71% of alternative investment opportunities. But the consolidated Growth Rank has a low rank of 29, which means that the company exhibits below-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, invested capital growth, and stock returns. The consolidated Safety Rank has a riskier rank of 21, meaning the company has a riskier financing structure than 79 comparable companies when looking at the amount of its debt, its refinancing requirements, and its ability to service debt. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 52, Altria Group is better positioned than 52% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. Half of the consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit above-average performance, but the other half are below market levels. The company enjoys a good value (Value Rank of 86) and positive market sentiment in the professional investor community (Sentiment Rank of 71), but growth expectations are below-average (Growth Rank of 29) and the financing structure is on the risky side(Safety Rank of 21). This combination is rather dangerous, because high debt levels (low safety) require growth to finance the debt burden. The current low growth level may be temporary, because professionals are actually optimistic (positive sentiment). Good value is sometimes an indication that the company's future is challenging. The below-par growth performance may be the reason for this assessment. Companies with less growth typically have a lower price than fast-growing competitors. Even though professional investor sentiment is strong, we recommend further evaluating whether the future of Altria Group is as challenging as the stock's low price suggests. Since the professional community is optimistic, the stock might just be going through a more challenging phase now, indicating that timing might be good now. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for Altria Group positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 71 (better than 71% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Altria Group is above average. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Altria Group. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 21 (worse than 79% of alternative investments), which means that currently, stock research analysts tend to warn against investing in the stock of the company. But they are changing their opinions! Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 59, which indicates a shift in stock research experts opinions for the better. In other words, they are getting more optimistic about stock investments in Altria Group. Even better, the Professional Investors rank is 89, meaning that professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 89% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. Furthermore, Market Pulse has a rank of 93, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are upbeat when discussing this company (more positive news than for 93% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 71 (more positive than 71% compared with investment alternatives), Altria Group has a reputation among professional investors that is above-average compared with that of its competitors. While analysts are still critical of the company, some are changing their minds. In addition, the professional news channels are optimistic, and many institutional investors have already bought stock in the company. These are encouraging signals, despite the still lower level of analyst recommendations. They may be due to a problematic past, and about to change. The positive sentiment signals are stronger than the negative. ...read more
Value Strategy: Altria Group Stock Price Value at the top
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 86 (better than 86% compared with alternatives) for 2024, Altria Group shares are significantly less expensive than comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four indicators above average for Altria Group. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price to earnings, P/E ratio) is 95 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 95% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning Altria Group's profit levels. The same is valid for the expected Price-to-Book Capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Capital Rank of 100, and for Dividend Yield with a Dividend Yield Rank of 98. But, compared with other companies in the same industry, the stock price is higher than average as regards expected revenues; only 88% of all competitors have an even higher stock price as regards to sales revenues (a Price-to-Sales Rank of 12). Profits, the level of invested capital, and dividend policy suggest that this stock is attractively priced. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 86, is a buy recommendation based on Altria Group's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Since it is on the expensive side for Price-to-Sales, it may mean that Altria Group has pricing power in its distribution market because it can charge higher prices than its competitors. If this is the case, all four value indicators are positive signals for purchasing Altria Group shares. ...read more
Growth Strategy: Altria Group Growth Momentum low
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 29 (better than 29% compared with alternatives), Altria Group shows a below-average growth dynamic in its industry. There is limited momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Altria Group. Capital Growth has a rank of 73, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its invested capital more than 22% of its competitors. Investors welcomed this, visible in the Stock Returns rank of 77 (above 77% of alternative investments). But Sales Growth has only a rank of 4, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow less than 96% of its competitors, and Profit Growth is also low at a rank of 22. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 29, is a hold recommendation for growth and momentum investors. This is an ambiguous picture. Revenue growth and capital growth are strong, but the growth in profit, which seems good, can also be an indication that growth momentum may be negative. The fact that stock returns have been above average doesn't help much, as stock returns are less reliable in showing a company’s future growth potential. Prices may perform well for the simple reason that investors were too pessimistic in the past and are now correcting their opinions and moving the stock price to a more reasonable level. As the growth picture is mixed for Altria Group, investors may want to look at value and sentiment indicators for a well-rounded picture of this stock. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Altria Group Debt Financing Safety risky
| SAFETY METRICS | August 15, 2024 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 10 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 14 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 77 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 21 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 21 (better than 21% compared with alternatives), the company Altria Group has much riskier financing practices than comparable other companies, which means that their overall debt burden is significantly above the industry average. This doesn't mean that the business of Altria Group is also risky, it only means that the company is on the riskier side in respect to bankruptcy in case things turn sour, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with just one indicator above average for Altria Group. Liquidity is at 77, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 77% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is safer when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is riskier at a rank of 14, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 86% of its competitors. Leverage is also high at a rank of 10, which means that the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 90% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 21 (worse than 79% compared with alternatives), Altria Group has a financing structure that is significantly riskier than that of its competitors. High Leverage (a low Obermatt Leverage Rank) is good in good times, because it usually indicates that shareholders get higher returns. The good Liquidity performance of the company is an indicator that this is the case. However, if you expect an economic downturn, you may stay clear of this stock because they have an above-average debt level that needs refinancing soon. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: Altria Group Below-Average Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | August 15, 2024 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 86 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 29 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 77 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 37 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 37 (worse than 63% compared with investment alternatives), Altria Group (Tobacco, USA) shares have somewhat below-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Altria Group are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 86 (better than 86% of alternatives) but show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 29), and are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 21), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 37, is a hold recommendation based on Altria Group's financial characteristics. As the company Altria Group's key financial metrics exhibit good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 86) but low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 29) and risky financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 21), it may be a risky investment, because debt in times of crises can make things worse. The good value, better than 86% of comparable companies, may indicate the company's future is challenging. If you believe that low growth is temporary or just due to a specific current event, you may conclude that the good value of the stock provides an attractive investment opportunity. ...read more
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