Philip Morris International shares rose on their first day of trading as analysts started covering the cigarette maker with "Buy" ratings.
Philips Morris International was spun off from Altria Group Inc. (MO, Fortune 500) and began regular trading on Monday. Analysts from Lehman Brothers and Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage with "Buy"-equivalent ratings.
Lehman analyst Michael Branca placed PMI shares on his Favorites list in the beverage and tobacco sector and set a price target of $59 per share cashadvance.com. He said the stock will benefit from being separated from Altria’s slowing U.S. sales and the threat of lawsuits.
Branca believes Philip Morris International Inc. can surpass its own profit targets in the next two years and said the company’s stock buybacks and rising dividends should lead to solid growth.
The stock rose $2.82, or 5.6%, to $53.50 in morning trading.
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