5 Best Tobacco and Cigarette Stocks To Buy

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

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 43

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) manufactures and sells tobacco products in the United States, including cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, and oral nicotine pouches. The company was founded in 1822 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) is one of the most popular tobacco stocks among hedge funds. However, the company reported a Q3 non-GAAP EPS of $1.28 and a revenue of $5.28 billion, falling short of Wall Street estimates by $0.02 and $150 million, respectively. 

According to Insider Monkey’s second quarter database, 43 hedge funds were long Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO), compared to 49 funds in the prior quarter. Harris Associates is the largest stakeholder of the company, with 7.2 million shares worth $326.3 million. 

Broyhill Asset Management made the following comment about Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:

“We rebalanced our tobacco exposure during the year, reducing our investment in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) as the future of the company’s combustible cigarette business became increasingly questionable given pending US legislation and a lackluster portfolio of reduced risk products. We reinvested the proceeds in Philip Morris so that relative position sizing is more consistent with our increased conviction.”