Saturday, March 29, 2008

More Investing Options with the Altria Split

On Friday, Altria finally completed its long awaited spin-off which gave each shareholder one share of Philip Morris International for every share of Altria owned. With the break-up there are now two potential buying opportunities in my opinion. Cramer depicts a choice between value (Altria) and growth (PMI), and I think he is dead on with this assessment, however I do believe one will perform better over time. Altria may not have the growth potential, but because the expectations are not as high I believe it will deliver results. Don't forget about the 5.2% dividend too which will attract a lot of value institutional investors. There are potential risks though, like dramitic decreases in sales in the United States, higher tax rates, and litigation. For many previous shareholders like myself the spin-off offers some much needed diversification so choosing one is not in the cards. Like Cramer says in his Mad Money clip (click title) both investments are solid long-term plays that will benefit from shareholder friendly management.

*Disclaimer: I own MO and PMI

1 comment:

Gordon Chaffin said...

I have owned Altria for 3 months and I plan on continuing to own both for diversification. Altria has been beaten up over the last few months...tell your friends to start smoking!!