ALTRIA TO HOST WEBCAST OF 2020 ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS
Over the past 13 months, the marijuana industry has done a 180 -- and not the good kind. Following a first quarter in 2019 that saw more than a dozen pot stocks gain at least 70%, the past 13 months have featured across-the-board declines for North American cannabis stocks of 50% to 95%. Meanwhile, in the U.S., high tax rates on legal cannabis have made it virtually impossible for retailers to compete with the black market.
Altria's (NYSE: MO) first-quarter earnings report saw sales surge 16% as shipment volumes jumped 6% from the year-ago period. It's also why Altria remains a top stock to buy even when the world isn't falling apart: Its products, like its Marlboro brand of cigarettes, are always in demand and it has been able to pay an ever-rising dividend for years. Shares of the domestic tobacco giant are down 26% this year due to troubles its investments in electronic cigarettes and marijuana have had, causing its payout to currently yield over 9% annually, but that makes its stock more attractive.
Aurora Cannabis (NYSE: ACB) stock has skyrocketed by a triple-digit percentage in recent days after the Canadian cannabis producer reported better-than-expected fiscal 2020 third-quarter results. You might think that after this huge gain, Aurora is outperforming rival Cronos Group (NASDAQ: CRON), which posted Q1 results earlier this month that were below expectations. Which of these two marijuana stocks is the better pick going forward?
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Amgen, BHP, Altria, Apple and Target
Troubled e-cigarette maker Juul has dropped its internal valuation by 35% to approximately $13 billion, Bloomberg reports. The company cited public market volatility and new financial projections in the US and abroad.Tobacco giant Altria Group (MO) snapped up 35% of Juul in 2018 for a whopping $12.8 billion. MO’s current valuation of its stake equates to a total valuation of Juul of approximately $12 billion.Juul has been hit by litigation, lower-than-expected sales in Europe and rising regulatory pressure on the e-cigarette industry. For instance, in Europe the e-cigarette nicotine limit is capped at 20 milligrams per milliliter of fluid. That’s well under half the nicotine content of US Juul pods at 59 milligrams.Buzzfeed recently reported that Juul plans to stop selling its e-cigarettes in five European countries, namely Austria, Belgium, Portugal, France, and Spain by the end of 2020. At the same time, the company will slash its 3,000-strong workforce by about a third.In April the Federal Trade Commission filed an administrative complaint alleging that Altria and JUUL Labs alleging that MO dealt with the e-vapor competitive threat by agreeing not to compete in return for a substantial ownership interest in JUUL.The administrative trial is scheduled to begin on Jan. 5, 2021.“Altria has written down the value of JUUL twice, so investors likely already have low (if any) return expectations (viewed more as a future call option)” writes RBC Capital’s Nik Modi.“While selling at a loss is a near-term negative, we think some investors will view this as a positive event (similar to when the FTC blocked EPC/Harry’s)” he commented.Despite the JUUL troubles, Modi has a positive outlook on MO stock. He reiterated his Altria buy rating with a $68 price target following earnings, writing “A strong quarter with results ahead of even our bullish expectations.”Overall Altria shows a Strong Buy Street consensus with an average analyst price target of $49. With shares down 26% year-to-date, the target indicates upside potential of 35%. (See MO stock analysis on TipRanks).Related News: RBC: 2 Strong Value Stocks to Buy Now Beyond Meat: Is the Rally Over? Disney (DIS): Is It Time to Buy? More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Novavax Seeks To Raise $250 Million From Share Sale; Top Analyst Bumps Up PT * Baidu Pops 8% After-Hours On Strong Earnings Beat * Amazon Is Said To Be In Talks To Buy Bankrupt J.C. Penney * Starbucks Back To Business In Japan Today
The U.S. International Trade Commission has announced a probe into Altria and Philip Morris for alleged patent violations over iQOS heat-not-burn technology.
With the prospects for global growth rapidly diminishing, electronic cigarette maker Juul Labs slashed its internal valuation by $7 billion, eliminating some 35% from the total and bringing it closer to the value assigned to it by its biggest investor, Altria (NYSE: MO). It's a major reversal for Juul Labs, and its tobacco giant partner too, as not too long ago the smoking-alternative leader saw significant expansion opportunities worldwide. Altria, after taking a $12.8 billion stake in Juul in 2018, has since written off three-quarters of the value of the investment.
We travel to tobacco fields, out-of-favor telcos, and even China to find some of the market's top high-yielding stocks.
With volatility through the roof over the last few months, finding a good dividend stock isn't as easy as it once was. With that in mind, let's take a look at three dividend stocks that are selling for cheap today. AT&T (NYSE: T) has lurched from one repositioning to the next over the last few years.
Over the last 20 months, they have been impacted by valuation issues, a thriving black market, lower than expected demand, high inventory levels, mounting losses, health issues from the vaping scandals, and much more. The investor euphoria that surrounded cannabis stocks when Canada legalized marijuana for recreational use seems like a distant dream. The marijuana sector is still at a nascent stage and is expected to grow at a rapid pace in the upcoming decade.
Top Research Reports for Amgen, BHP, Altria & Others
Altria Holds 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders; Declares Regular Quarterly Dividend of $0.84 Per Common Share
Q1 2020 Altria Group Inc Earnings Call
Tobacco Industry Outlook Smoking Hot on Pricing & RRP Focus
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- After a prolonged shutdown, Ford Motor Co. officially resumed production at its North American factories this week. It hasn’t been as smooth a process as the company might have hoped: Ford had to temporarily close two critical facilities this week to allow for a deep cleaning after workers tested positive for the coronavirus. An Explorer SUV plant in Chicago was closed a second time after an employee at a nearby supplier facility tested positive for the virus, causing a parts shortage.This is the reality of manufacturing for the time being as companies fret about worker safety and the legal and reputational risks of not doing enough to protect employees. Unlike Ford, whose products fall into a category of consumer spending that’s become even more discretionary amid the pandemic, wide swaths of the industrial sector were deemed essential and allowed to remain operational. Those companies, too, have had their share of growing pains as they adjust to a new way of working.Boeing Co. temporarily closed its factories in the Puget Sound area in March after a worker died of the coronavirus and later briefly shuttered work at its 787 plant in South Carolina. CBS Minnesota reported earlier this month that a Honeywell International Inc. facility in Minneapolis had closed after a worker tested positive. Whirlpool Corp. closed its Amana, Iowa, refrigerator plant at least twice after employees tested positive for the virus, according to the Gazette local paper. Deere & Co. and Altria Group Inc.’s Philip Morris USA are among the many others that have had to close plants on a limited basis to avoid outbreaks among workers. Lockheed Martin Corp., meanwhile, said this week it will temporarily slow production of the F-35 fighter jet because of delays at suppliers. It’s a lot harder, though, to bring factories back to life than it is to just figure it out as you go along. Ford may be a manufacturer, but because it’s one of the few to have experienced an extended lockdown, it’s arguably a better benchmark for the non-industrial economy. You better believe that office-based companies that have sent most of their workers home are keeping a close eye on how the likes of Ford fare in flipping the switch back on. Seeing the automaker’s setbacks this week, companies that can operate without their employees clustered in the same place may be less keen to rush back. They’re getting a more continuous stream of work out of their employees now than they would if they had to hit the pause button and clear out the office every few weeks. And the mixed messages from the White House aren't helpful: President Donald Trump is due to visit a Ford factory in Michigan that’s been converted to ventilator production and has been wishy-washy on whether he will adhere to the company’s face-mask requirements. Already, American Express Co. CEO Steve Squeri and Visa Inc. CEO Al Kelly said this week that most of their employees would work from home for the rest of the year. Some 28% of employers recently surveyed by Challenger, Gray & Christmas said they would make work-from-home arrangements permanent for at least some employees. Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and social media site Twitter Inc. are among those who have publicly said remote working will be their indefinite default option. Facebook Inc. said Thursday it would follow suit and move to a more permanent remote workforce.At the end of the day, manufacturing or non-manufacturing, it's all interconnected. How permanent this shift to work from home will be is debatable, but if companies end up needing less office space, by default that means fewer HVAC systems, commercial lighting, fire and security products or even 3M Co.’s Post-it notes. And if workers aren’t going to be commuting, do they still need to buy cars from Ford? There's a lot riding on getting reopening right. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Brooke Sutherland is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals and industrial companies. She previously wrote an M&A column for Bloomberg News.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
No matter how dire things may have appeared in previous bear markets, bull-market rallies eventually erase all evidence of downward moves in the stock market. Also keep in mind that you don't have to be rich to generate a handsome return from the stock market. With the exception of the oil and gas industry, there's probably not a harder-hit industry lately than bank stocks.
Canopy Growth and Cronos Group have more cash on hand than most other cannabis companies, but are they buys?
Like the majority of investors, you're most likely working on a retirement portfolio that will provide a large enough nest egg to give you a comfortable retirement. Make sure you know all about what financial planners call the accumulation and distribution phases of retirement planning.
The market’s least-volatile stocks look very different today than they did just three months ago, thanks to the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.