Short Interest in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Declines By 20.4%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 48,020,000 shares, a decline of 20.4% from the March 31st total of 60,340,000 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 12,640,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MO. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.0% in the first quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Whitener Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.6% during the third quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salvus Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:MO traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $43.81. 8,655,330 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,977,851. Altria Group has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $48.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.25 billion, a PE ratio of 9.17, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.