Is Altria Group Stock Underperforming the Dow?

The article examines how much capital a $110,000 dual-income household would need to replace spending with dividend stocks, comparing yield tiers. At 6% it implies about $1.83M; at 10% about $1.1M. It cites AT&T’s 4.5% yield (dividend unchanged since 2022) and Verizon’s 5.8% yield (raised to $0.7075). It notes Altria’s 5.8% yield and 1.30x dividend coverage in 2025, while warning higher yields may be less durable.

Altria’s U.S. Smokeless Tobacco subsidiary (USSTC) said May 21, 2026 it will consolidate production by moving all output from its Tennessee site to a new facility on an existing Kentucky campus. The Nashville plant will wind down gradually, with operations expected to end in early 2028; USSTC plans to offer severance and outplacement and encourage employees to apply for roles in Kentucky and Virginia. Separately, Barclays raised its MO price target from $63 to $64 but kept an Underweight rating,

U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co. (USSTC), an Altria subsidiary, plans to wind down production at its Nashville plant and build a new 270,000-s.f. facility on its Hopkinsville campus in Kentucky, according to TobaccoInsider.com. The project, pending state incentive approval, would create 200+ jobs and roughly double USSTC’s Kentucky workforce; production is expected to end in early 2028.

Invesco’s SPHD ETF targets the S&P 500’s highest-dividend stocks, then selects the 50 lowest realized-volatility names and weights by yield. Over five years, SPHD returned 36% total (~6% annualized) versus SPY’s 92% with dividends reinvested. The article cites SPHD’s 4.5% monthly yield and higher 0.30% fee, arguing alternatives like Schwab’s SCHD (0.06% fee, 53% five-year return) have outperformed.

Altria (MO) showed a surprising 5% year-over-year revenue increase in its latest quarter, marking its strongest growth in years. However, this growth is misleading as it's compared against weak previous periods, with overall revenue still down significantly from five years ago. Despite a recent stock rally driven by low valuation and a high dividend yield, the company faces long-term challenges, leading the author to advise against investing.

LSV Asset Management reduced its stake in Altria Group by 2.1% (113,823 shares) in the fourth quarter, holding over 5.2 million shares valued at $299.9 million. Other institutional investors like Viking Fund Management LLC and JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their holdings. Altria Group reported strong Q1 earnings, beating consensus estimates, and recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.06 per share.