10 Best Performing Long Term Stocks So Far in 2025

8. Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Year-to-date performance as of April 12: 7.88%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 47

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) is a prominent American company that produces and markets tobacco, cigarettes, and associated products on a global scale. The firm has also ventured into next-generation nicotine products, such as oral nicotine pouches and electronic vaping devices.

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) released fourth-quarter profits for 2024, with earnings per share of $1.29, in line with market estimates, while revenues of $5.11 billion exceeded expectations of $5.04 billion. Looking ahead to 2025, Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) forecasts adjusted diluted EPS in the $5.22 to $5.37 range, indicating a 2% to 5% increase over its $5.12 EPS in 2024.

Following Altria’s presentation at the CAGNY conference, Citi analyst Adam Spielman maintained a Neutral rating on the MO stock with a $52 price target. During the conference, Altria’s leadership stressed the growth of overall US nicotine volumes, which have climbed at a compound annual growth rate of 2% over the last five years. This increase is linked to a shift in customer preferences toward vapor and current oral nicotine products. According to Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO), heated tobacco products are predicted to account for 5% of the US nicotine market in the long term.

Andvari Associates stated the following regarding Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:

“Last year, Andvari made its first investments in tobacco companies with the purchase of Philip Morris International and Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO). At the time of our purchase, Philip Morris and Altria had underperformed the S&P 500 over the prior 5- and 10-year periods. Both traded at low valuations and with high dividend yields. But thanks to following the industry o and on for 10+ years, and thanks to many discussions with long-time shareholders of the companies, Andvari felt the time was right to make the plunge. The timing could not have been much better for us as both companies have so far contributed positively to Andvari’s recent overall performance.

The problem—or the feature, depending on your perspective—with the tobacco industry has been a declining population of cigarette smokers in developed countries. Over the last four or five years, the decline in these smoking populations has accelerated, which in part explains the poor share performance of the tobacco companies between 2017 and 2023. Despite this, the tobacco companies have maintained, or slowly increased, their revenues and profits with regular price increases on cigarettes…” (Click here to read the full text)