08:40 AM EDT, 04/23/2024 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

We increase our 12-month target by $10 to $110, based on a '25 P/E of 15.7x, a discount to its 10-year mean forward P/E of 17.6x. We lower our adjusted EPS estimates to $6.30 from $6.45 for '24 and to $7.00 from $7.05 for '25. PM posts Q1 adjusted EPS of $1.50 vs. $1.38 (+9%), well ahead of the $1.41 consensus. Revenue rose 10% to $8.79B ($340M above consensus), as sales volumes were up 3.6% on growth of 20.9% for heated tobacco units and 35.8% for smoke-free products, partially offset by weaker cigarette sales (-0.4%). Gross margin of 63.6% was 30 bps shy of consensus. Despite the beat, PM lowered 2024 adjusted EPS guidance to $6.19-$6.31 from $6.32-$6.44 (current consensus: $6.33). While the guidance cut was disappointing, PM has a history of providing conservative guidance. We maintain a Buy, liking the stock's 5.5% dividend yield and viewing PM as a company that is successfully making the pivot away from cigarette products, noting that the smoke-free business accounted for 39% of total revenue in Q1.