Tobacco

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) announced on Wednesday that it would increase its quarterly dividend from 34 cents per share to 35 cents per share. The dividend will be paid on April 9 to shareholders of record as of March 15. Shares of Altria Group closed Tuesday at $19.97.

A portfolio is constructed from many different stocks, and I have a continued theme that may attract your interest. Dividends are a large part to investing, even though they may seem to be insignificant in the short run. When dividends are reinvested, they create large gains over time with the...

Below are the top 5 consumer goods stocks on the NYSE and NASDAQ in terms of operating margins. The trailing-twelve-month operating margins at Iconix Brand Group Inc (NASDAQ: ICON) are 66.95%. ICON’s quarterly earnings growth stands at 24.60% y/y. Read more about this company here. The trailing-...

Citigroup has maintained its “buy" rating on Philip Morris (NYSE: PM). The target price for PM is set to $56. According to Citigroup, PM’s earnings growth guidance of 12%-15% for 2010 is excessively conservative. PM’s shares are highly attractive at the current levels. PM’s shares have slipped by...

We all know that supply and demand forces throughout the day determine the market prices of stocks. One way to improve your chances on the upside it to purchase the shares of companies that announce share buyback programs. The repurchase of shares can help boost a company's stock price. Since they...

Philip Morris International, Inc. (NYSE: PM) has posted strong results for the fourth-quarter. The company reported a 5.3% rise in profits in the fourth-quarter. The company posted EPS of $0.80 for the quarter. The company reported revenue of $6.72 billion, excluding excise taxes. The company saw...

NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) reported today a fourth quarter net income of $43 million, or $0.20 per share, as compared to $35 million, or $0.17 per share, for the same quarter last year. Revenues decreased to $686 million as compared to $901 million in the year ago period. Analysts had...

• CVS Caremark (NYSE:CVS) posted fourth quarter adjusted earnings of 79 cents, one cent better than Zacks estimates, on revenues of $25.8 billion, which missed Zacks estimates of $26.35 billion • Hasbro (NYSE:HAS) posted fourth quarter earnings of $1.09, versus Zacks estimates of 81 cents a share...

Tobacco company Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) on Thursday reported that its 4th quarter earnings dropped 17%. Reynolds American Inc. earned $215 million, or 74 cents per share, down from $258 million, or 88 cents per share, for the same quarter of 2008. Excluding various charges, Reynolds...

The fourth-quarter profits at Altria (NYSE: MO) rose 7% to $725 million, or $0.35 a share, as revenues jumped 29% to $6.01 billion. Excluding items, MO would have earned $0.35 a share, as compared to the consensus expectations of $0.40 a share. MO’s profits were helped by increased profits from...

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) has released an update on Altria Inc. (NYSE: MO). Altria Inc. reported fourth quarter adjusted EPS of $0.39 which was below Citi’s estimate of $0.41 and the consensus estimate of $0.40. This was largely due to heavy promotions in the smokeless segment. However, Altria has...

Companies reporting before the bell: Motorola (NYSE: MOT): The company may report its earnings at $0.8 per share. Read more about this company here. AT&T (NYSE: T): The telecommunications company is expected to report its earnings at $0.51 a share, reflecting a $0.13 decline from its year-...

I am seeing a large bearish to neutral options play in Lorillard (NYSE: LO) this afternoon. The action is in the Jan 2011 contract cycle, where the $80 call was sold for $3.30 9,800 times. This comes on the heel of an analyst downgrade this morning by Credit Suisse from Outperform to Neutral. The...

Despite the announcement of a new tax on TARP recipients, low retail sales and unemployment numbers and credit card defaults, markets have been moving up since March 2009. Jim Cramer, the host of the “Mad Money” show, declared that bears had been wrong all along and bulls have been proved right....