DiviMo's Blog : Seven reasons to go MO

You know one of my favorite stocks is MCD (McDonald's). Another favorite is Altria (MO). My friend, Todd Johnson, over on Alpha Seeker wrote a blog on seven reasons to buy MO. I'd like to condense and repeat those reasons here for your reading edification.

• MO's dividend has been raised 45 times in the past 42 years.

• MO has a .45 beta compared to the overall stock market. When other equities are volatile, MO's stock price trades within a narrow range. MO has traded between $22.75 - $28.13 for the past 52-weeks.

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• MO continued to show investors that dividend increases are a key focus. On August 26th, 2011, MO increased their quarterly dividend 7.9% from 38 cents per quarter to 41 cents per quarter. The annual dividend yield is 6.1% based upon a $26.72 MO stock price.

• MO continues to aggressively buy back shares. On January 27th, the company committed to buying back $1 billion in MO shares during 2011.

• MO continues to see progress in smokeless tobacco sales and wine sales. These product lines will provide growth markets for the upcoming years.

• MO, on July 20th, confirmed that earnings per share (not counting one-time adjustments) will increase between 6-9% for the year. EPS figures should arrive at $2.01 - $2.07 per share. This represents a reasonable 13x price-to-earnings multiple for a sound company.

• In 2011, Fortune magazine ranked MO number one in the tobacco industry for financial soundness and long-term investment.

 I suggest to buy on down days.