Why I'll Never Own Altria Stock
Altria (NYSE: MO), the top tobacco company in America, is often considered a stable investment for income investors. Its core products are addictive, it generates stable earnings growth, and it's raised its dividend every year since spinning off its overseas business as Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) over a decade ago.
The stock looks cheap today at eight times forward earnings, and it pays a whopping forward dividend yield of 9.2%. That dividend also remains sustainable, since it consumed just 77% of the company's free cash flow over the past 12 months. That high yield and low valuation could set a safety net under Altria's stock, but I still wouldn't touch this stock, for five simple reasons.
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Source Fool.com
