5 Dividend Stocks People Buy for Early Retirement

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

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 47
Dividend Yield: 7.1%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO) is a producer and distributor of oral tobacco products cigarettes, operating across the globe. It is one of the largest companies in the industry, and ranks 4th on our list of dividend stocks people buy for early retirement.

Analysts at Stifel, this July, reiterated a Buy rating and $56 price target on shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO).

In the second quarter of 2021, Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO) had an EPS of $1.23, beating estimates by $0.06. The company’s revenue was $5.61 billion, up 10.90% year over year and beating estimates by $250.80 million. Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO) has gained 5.86% in the past 6 months and 23.90% year to date.

By the end of the second quarter of 2021, 47 hedge funds out of the 873 tracked by Insider Monkey held stakes in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO) worth roughly $948 million. This is compared to 38 hedge funds in the previous quarter with a total stake value of approximately $1.1 billion.

Broyhill Asset Management, an investment management firm, mentioned Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO) in its second-quarter 2021 investor letter. Here’s what they said:

“Altria (MO) shook off the prospects of a ban on menthol and a potential cap on nicotine and gained 20%. We shared our thoughts on these regulations during the quarter, which are available here.

MO Valuation. MO is up ~ 18% YTD (even accounting for the recent sell-off). We expect MO to generate close to $5 in annual FCF per share over the next few years, putting the stock at ~ 10x, which is less than half the market’s multiple today. Over the last decade, shares have traded at an average multiple of 15x and within a range of ~ 10x – 20x (+/-1 standard deviation). The stock yields 7.2% at the current price, close to a 6% premium to treasuries. Historically, shares have traded closer to a 3% premium to the 10Y, which would imply a ~ $75 share price.”