Philip Morris International Inc. Stock Buy Recommendation Reiterated (PM)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of B. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, notable return on equity, expanding profit margins, solid stock price performance and impressive record of earnings per share growth. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had generally poor debt management on most measures that we evaluated.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• PM's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 1.3%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 9.7%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share.
• Investors have apparently begun to recognize positive factors similar to those we have mentioned in this report, including earnings growth. This has helped drive up the company's shares by a sharp 33.97% over the past year, a rise that has exceeded that of the S&P 500 Index. Regarding the stock's future course, although almost any stock can fall in a broad market decline, PM should continue to move higher despite the fact that it has already enjoyed a very nice gain in the past year.
• PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL has improved earnings per share by 17.9% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past two years. We feel that this trend should continue. During the past fiscal year, PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL increased its bottom line by earning $4.84 versus $3.92 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($5.18 versus $4.84).
• The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Tobacco industry average. The net income increased by 12.6% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, going from $1,919.00 million to $2,161.00 million.
• The company's current return on equity greatly increased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a signal of significant strength within the corporation. Compared to other companies in the Tobacco industry and the overall market, PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL's return on equity significantly exceeds that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.

Philip Morris International Inc., through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cigarettes and other tobacco products. The company has a P/E ratio of 18, equal to the average tobacco industry P/E ratioand above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Philip Morris International has a market cap of $154.42 billion and is part of the consumer goods sector and tobacco industry. Shares are up 15.4% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

You can view the full Philip Morris International Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

--Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff.

TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

For more information on Philip Morris International Inc. click any of the following:

• Philip Morris International Inc. Stock Price

• Philip Morris International Inc. Analyst Ratings

• Philip Morris International Inc. Key Stats & Profile

• Philip Morris International Inc. Earnings

• Philip Morris International Inc. Ratio Comparison

• Philip Morris International Inc. Growth Rates

• Philip Morris International Inc. Balance Sheet

• Philip Morris International Inc. Cash Flow

• Philip Morris International Inc. Income Statement