Altria beats 4Q profit forecasts

Altria Group (MO) on Thursday reported fourth-quarter net income of $4.97 billion.

On a per-share basis, the Richmond, Virginia-based company said it had profit of $2.60. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were 91 cents per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 80 cents per share.

The owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker posted revenue of $6.1 billion in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $3.94 billion.

Altria expects full-year earnings in the range of $3.90 to $4.03 per share.

Altria shares have fallen 1.5 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has increased roughly 6 percent. The stock has decreased 1 percent in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on MO at https://www.zacks.com/ap/MO