In the latest trading session, Philip Morris (PM) closed at $90.04, marking a +0.6% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500’s daily gain of 0.96%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.61%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.04%.
Prior to today’s trading, shares of the seller of Marlboro and other cigarette brands had lost 5.79% over the past month. This has lagged the Consumer Staples sector’s loss of 1.34% and the S&P 500’s loss of 0.21% in that time.
Philip Morris will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, Philip Morris is projected to report earnings of $1.32 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 4.76%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $7.84 billion, up 5.26% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $6.02 per share and revenue of $31.27 billion. These totals would mark changes of +16.44% and +8.98%, respectively, from last year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Philip Morris. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company’s business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.69% lower within the past month. Philip Morris currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Philip Morris currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 14.87. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry’s average Forward P/E of 10.12.
Investors should also note that PM has a PEG ratio of 1.9 right now. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock’s expected earnings growth rate. PM’s industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.9 as of yesterday’s close.
The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 200, putting it in the bottom 22% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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