Altria Group, the Consumer Defensive sector company, was revisited by a Wall Street analyst today. Analyst Faham Baig from UBS upgraded the rating on the stock to a Buy and gave it a $63.00 price target.
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Faham Baig has given his Buy rating due to a combination of factors that point to improving fundamentals and attractive valuation for Altria Group. He expects the steep decline in cigarette volumes to moderate from 2026 onward, supported by stabilizing industry trends and targeted pricing moves that should help defend Altria’s market share, particularly in the deep-discount segment. In addition, the company’s use of duty drawback benefits is anticipated to provide a meaningful uplift to smokeable segment sales and operating income over the next two years, helping return the business to modest top-line growth despite only gradual progress in reduced-risk products.
Faham Baig also forecasts an acceleration in earnings per share growth in 2026–2027, with his estimates running ahead of market consensus and supporting management’s medium‑term EPS growth ambitions. He notes that Altria’s shares currently trade at a marked discount to both historical levels and tobacco peers on a forward P/E basis, while offering a high free cash flow and dividend yield that he believes already reflect the company’s limited presence in smoke‑free categories. With a relatively conservative balance sheet that could accommodate increased share repurchases and the prospect of better revenue and profit trends acting as potential catalysts, he concludes that the risk‑reward profile justifies an upgrade to a Buy rating.
According to TipRanks, Baig is ranked #7681 out of 10356 analysts.