5 Stocks For Passive Income In 2022

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

Dividend Yield as of February 18: 7.01%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 45

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) is one of the largest American tobacco producers that distributes cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products. Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s dividend on February 18 came in at 7.01%, making it one of the top stocks for passive income in 2022. 

On December 8, Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) reported a $0.90 per share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. The dividend was paid on January 10, to shareholders of record on December 23. 

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) published its Q4 results on January 27, posting an EPS of $1.09, beating estimates by $0.01. The $5.09 billion revenue surpassed market consensus estimates by $88.06 million. 

BofA analyst Lisa Lewandowski downgraded Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $50, down from $56. The company is likely to remain a “steady” earnings performer with limited input inflation and margin expansion, but the expectations of regulatory news flow may be an overhang on the stock in 2022, the analyst told investors in a research note. 

Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey in Q3 2021, 45 funds held long positions in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO), down from 47 funds in the quarter earlier. Harris Associates owned a leading stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO), with over 5 million shares worth $232.6 million. 

Here is what Broyhill Asset Management has to say about Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in its Q2 2021 investor letter:

“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.”