Altria (NYSE:MO) closed in green for the seventh consecutive trading session, with the stock closing 0.52% higher at $59.40 on Tuesday.
MO has added 1.90% over the course of the last six trading sessions compared to a fall of 0.78% in the benchmark S&P 500 Index during the same period. While in 2025, the stock posted a growth of 13.27% compared to a rise of 15.90% in the S&P 500 Index.
According to a recent report, MO traded slightly higher in Thursday trading after announcing that CEO Billy Gifford will be retiring and current CFO Salvatore Mancuso will succeed him.
Goldman Sachs analyst Bonnie Herzog said she viewed the announcement positively on the expectation for a seamless transition and limited disruption of the company’s ongoing transformation of its vision to Move Beyond Smoking and its 2028 Enterprise Goals.
Similarly, Seeking Alpha analysts appeared bullish about the stock, issuing a BUY call for MO with a rating of 3.81 out of 5.
However, Seeking Alpha analyst Daniel Jones reports that the company faces declining revenues and market share amid a shrinking cigarette market, despite management’s transition efforts towards non-traditional products.
He reaffirms a HOLD rating on MO, citing its attractive valuation and robust cash generation despite structural headwinds and competitive pressures.
Similarly, Seeking Alpha’s Quant rating has a HOLD rating for MO with a score of 3.17 out of 5. The company was rated A+ for profitability, while it got a D for growth and a B- for momentum.
Wall Street analysts are also cautious, as 5 rated the stock a BUY or above, 8 rated it a HOLD, and 2 considered it a SELL or lower.