Better Buy: Altria vs. Philip Morris International
Back in 2008, tobacco giant Altria Group (NYSE: MO) spun off its overseas business as Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM). At the time, Altria planned to focus on streamlining, cutting costs, and handling its tobacco-related lawsuits in the U.S. PMI was set loose to expand overseas into markets with higher smoking rates and fewer regulations.
Since that separation, Altria's and PMI's stocks have generated total returns of about 370% and 240%, respectively, after factoring in their reinvested dividends. Both stocks also outperformed the S&P 500 this year as the bear market drove investors toward safer, cheaper, and higher-yielding stocks.
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Source Fool.com
