Altria Group Earnings Preview: Analysts Expect Falling Revenue, Rising EPS

Altria Group MO announces its next round of earnings this Thursday, October 27, 2011. Get the latest predictions in Benzinga's essential guide to the company's third quarter earnings report.

Earnings and Revenue:

Analysts are looking ahead to a positive EPS of 56 cents/share and revenues of $4.44 billion. Altria Group's latest numbers will no doubt be compared with the company's year-ago quarter, when it reported a profit of 54 cents/share on revenues of $4.46 billion. We'll have to wait for Thursday to see if Altria Group falls in line with analyst expectations and reports an increase in EPS and a slight decline in revenue from the year-ago quarter.

Here's how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter	Q2	Q1	Q4	Q3
EPS Estimate	$0.53	$0.44	$0.44	$0.52
EPS Actual	$0.53	$0.44	$0.44	$0.54

Stock Performance:

Shares of Altria Group were trading at $27.31 as of October 24, 2011. Shares are up 16% year to date. For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 15.5%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably satisfied going into this earnings release.

• Long-term shareholders are already enjoying 12-month gains prior to the announcement

Average Stock Rating:

The average rating by analysts for Altria Group is a Hold. Over the past three months this rating's strength has declined slightly.

Competitors:

Want to check out the performance of Altria Group closest competitors? Take a look at some of the company's peers in the consumer staples sector.

• Alliance One International AOI: Moderate Buy with a $0.03 recent quarter EPS
• Lorillard LO: Hold with a $2.05 recent quarter EPS
• Star Scientific CIGX: -$0.04 recent quarter EPS

Altria Group is in the tobacco industry, which has experienced price/earnings growth of 1.7%.

Finally, a description of the company's main areas of operation: Altria Group manufactures and sells cigarettes and tobacco products as well as maintaining a portfolio of leveraged and direct finance leases.

Take Action:

There is your peek into Altria Group's upcoming earnings numbers, including some competitors to watch around the time of the announcement. Check back in with us after the announcement for a full recap. In the meantime, here are some links to explore today.

• To see up-to-date news on Altria Group, click here
• To see other trading ideas, click here
• To see other company earnings recaps, click here