Philip Morris (PM) closed the most recent trading day at $100.28, moving -0.98% from the previous trading session. This move was narrower than the S&P 500’s daily loss of 1.11%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.85%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.15%.
Heading into today, shares of the seller of Marlboro and other cigarette brands had gained 6.42% over the past month, outpacing the Consumer Staples sector’s gain of 3.25% and the S&P 500’s loss of 2.19% in that time.
Philip Morris will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.30, down 3.7% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $7.45 billion, down 8.06% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5.80 per share and revenue of $30.6 billion, which would represent changes of -4.61% and -2.56%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Philip Morris should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company’s business and profitability.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.7% higher. Philip Morris is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Philip Morris has a Forward P/E ratio of 17.47 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 9.66, so we one might conclude that Philip Morris is trading at a premium comparatively.
We can also see that PM currently has a PEG ratio of 3.49. 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. Tobacco stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.96 based on yesterday’s closing prices.
The Tobacco industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 40, which puts it in the top 16% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.
To follow PM in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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