Up More Than 12% This Year, Is This Dividend Stock With an Ultra-High Yield a No-Brainer Buy?

While large indexes and galore maturation stocks started 2026 sluggishly, investors person been uncovering their mode backmost to worth and dividend stocks. One beneficiary has been Altria (NYSE: MO), which is up much than 12% twelvemonth to day arsenic of March 26.

It's evidently a positive that Altria's banal is up, but its main selling constituent to investors is its consistently charismatic dividend. It's routinely 1 of the highest you'll find successful the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC).

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Given its bully commencement to the twelvemonth and lucrative dividend, is Altria a no-brainer buy? Well, it depends connected the investor.

Altria is the genitor institution of fashionable baccy brands specified arsenic Marlboro, Black & Mild, Copenhagen, and a fistful of others. It's the starring baccy institution successful the country, but the biggest interest with Altria's concern is the declining fig of U.S. big smokers.

The institution has been capable to usage its pricing powerfulness to rise prices and assistance offset falling measurement a bit, but that's not the champion semipermanent strategy. At immoderate point, raising prices won't suffice, and consumers volition set accordingly.

Altria has been actively trying to get a meaningful beingness successful the smoke-free category, but it hasn't had existent success. It mislaid astir $13 cardinal connected its Juul investment, amerciable vape products relationship for a batch of the category, and Philip Morris International's Zyn has a stronghold connected the nicotine pouch market.

That said, Altria has plentifulness of resources to proceed investing and bash everything successful its powerfulness to marque it happen.

Few companies prioritize their dividends arsenic overmuch arsenic Altria. It has accrued its yearly dividend for 57 consecutive years, making it 1 of a tiny fig of Dividend Kings (companies with astatine slightest 50 consecutive years of increases).

As of marketplace adjacent connected March 26, Altria's dividend output was 6.5% ($1.06 quarterly). That's successful enactment with its mean output implicit the past decennary and much than 5.5 times the S&P 500's average.

If you're a worth investor, privation to adhd a banal that holds up good successful recessions, oregon are retired and privation a reliable income stream, Altria's banal is simply a no-brainer buy. It generates beardown currency travel and prioritizes returning shareholder worth done dividends and banal buybacks (it repurchased $1 cardinal worthy successful 2025).