Altria Is Set For Strong Growth In 2005

Source from:  at Forbes.com 01/28/2005

Goldman Sachs reiterated an "outperform" rating on Altria (nyse: MO - news - people ), saying the company is set to deliver solid growth in 2005. "We continue to look for strong upside potential for the stock, as our sum-of-the-parts analysis continues to point to an $80 stock price today," Goldman said. The research firm lowered the 2005 and 2006 earnings-per-share estimate on Altria to $5.13 and $5.48, respectively, from $5.22 and $5.57. "These estimate cuts mainly reflect the exclusion of income from divested operations at Kraft Foods (nyse: KFT - news - people ), lower profit projections for Kraft's continuing operations and a higher share count for Altria," Goldman said. The research firm said there is no change to its view that Altria's earnings-per-share growth could accelerate to nearly 9% in 2005. Enditem