5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Philip Morris International
Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, global tobacco giant Philip Morris International (NYS: PM) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Philip Morris' business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Philip Morris facts
Headquarters | New York |
Market Cap | $121.8 billion |
Industry | Tobacco |
Trailing-12-Month Revenue | $28.72 billion |
Management | Chairman/CEO Louis Camilleri (since 2008) CFO Hermann Waldemer (since 2008) |
Return on Capital (Average, Past 3 Years) | 32.6% |
Cash/Debt | $2.2 billion / $16.9 billion |
Dividend Yield | 3.7% |
Competitors | British American Tobacco (ASE: BTI) |
Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.
On CAPS, 98% of the 2,607 members who have rated Philip Morris believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include TMFBiggles and mwinvestor.
Just last month, TMFBiggles tapped Philip Morris as a smooth way to go global: "A long-term vice play in a number of markets where smoking isn't demonized the way it is in America."
Philip Morris even boasts a robust three-year average operating margin of 41.2%. That's higher than that of other tobacco stocks like British American (32.4%), Reynolds American (NYS: RAI) (29.8%), and even former parent Altria (NYS: MO) (37.3%).
CAPS member mwinvestor elaborates on the Philip Morris bull case:
Love or hate tobacco; as long as people smoke and governments love tobacco taxes, tobacco isn't going anywhere in the foreseeable future. The anti-smoking mood in foreign countries isn't anywhere near as negative as in the US. Plus PM has a pretty decent dividend payout.
What do you think about Philip Morris, or any other stock for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future, and on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to find them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!
Interested in another easy way to track Philip Morris?Add it to your watchlist.
At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Philip Morris. The Fool owns shares of Philip Morris and Altria. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.
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