Philip Morris International (PMI) entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of privately owned Colombian cigarette manufacturer Productora Tabacalera de Colombia, Protabaco Ltda. (Protabaco), for $452 million. Protabaco is the second largest tobacco company in Colombia, with an estimated volume of 6.1 billion cigarettes and an approximate market share of 31.8% in 2008, with leading brands such as Mustang, Premier and President. The acquisition is believed to be a strategic business fit, in order to build on the company’s business in Columbia. The deal is expected to be marginally accretive to PM’s earnings and is expected to close in the second half of 2009. However, final approvals are still pending. In 2005, the company had acquired another Columbian company, Compañía Colombiana de Tabaco S.A. (Coltabaco). In addition, with increasing regulation over tobacco, there has been a shift towards smoke free tobacco products ...

pSpin-Offs often make for interesting investments. There are not that common, but tend to perform well, especially in their first couple of years as a stand-alone stock. This has been written about in a few areas, and specifically by investor and author Joel span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"Greenblatt/span, as this type of stock is one of his favorite investments. Let's look at what spin-offs are and why they outperform.br /br /a href="http://www.spinoffadvisors.com/"Spin-Off span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"Advisors/span/a, a company that specializes in research and span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"portfolio/span management of spin-offs, define them as this:br /br //pblockquoteIn a pure spin-off, a parent company distributes 100% of its ownership interests in a subsidiary operation as a dividend to its existing shareholders. After the spin-off, there are two separate, publicly held firms that have exactly the same shareholder base. This procedure stands in contrast to an initial public offering (span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"IPO/span), in which the parent company ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – March 24, 2009 - Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: General Mills (GIS), Kraft Foods (KFT), Kellogg Company (K), Philip Morris International (PM) and Altria (MO).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=4579.

Here are highlights from Monday's Analyst Blog:

Not So Nuts: K Supports New Bill

General Mills (GIS), Kraft Foods (KFT) and the Kellogg Company (K) are supporting legislation aimed at preventing tainted foods from entering the food supply. The 3 companies are supporting a bill introduced by

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Philip Morris International (PM) has a history of strong operating and financial performance as part of Altria (MO). Management has a credible strategy of growing EPS in the range of 10% to 12% and returning a substantial portion of the company's cash flow to shareholders.However, Philip Morris International has experienced an adverse mix shift as lower margin markets have grown faster than the company's average. In addition, the company is exposed to risks from litigation and increased smoking restrictions.Lastly, the European Union tobacco market has remained weak. The Hold rating is maintained. Our current target price is $40.50. Read the full analyst report on "PM"Read the full analyst report on "MO"Zacks Investment Research

“Philip Morris International remains a buy, despite these difficult markets,” says Tom Slee in GordonPape’s Internet Wealth Builder. Here he reviews the global tobacco firm

track tom’s picks at:

http://trackthepros.com/stocks/category/552

“Spun off from the Altria Group earlier this year, Philip Morris International is off to a flying start.

“The company posted strong second-quarter earnings. After a special charge for its Rothmans acquisition, earnings came in at 81c a share, up from 69c a share the year before.

“The company had been reporting as a clearly defined division of Altria so it’s possible to make comparisons and plot progress.

“Gross revenues rose 17.6% to $15.6 billion with double-digit growth in all business segments, helped to some extent by currency benefits. Sales were particularly strong in Egypt, Russia, and Argentina.

“At the same time, the company is engaged in an extensive cost reduction program. It’s a positive picture and PM

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“Philip Morris International remains a buy, despite these difficult markets,” says Tom Slee in GordonPape’s Internet Wealth Builder. Here he reviews the global tobacco firm

track tom’s picks at:

http://trackthepros.com/stocks/category/552

“Spun off from the Altria Group earlier this year, Philip Morris International is off to a flying start.

“The company posted strong second-quarter earnings. After a special charge for its Rothmans acquisition, earnings came in at 81c a share, up from 69c a share the year before.

“The company had been reporting as a clearly defined division of Altria so it’s possible to make comparisons and plot progress.

“Gross revenues rose 17.6% to $15.6 billion with double-digit growth in all business segments, helped to some extent by currency benefits. Sales were particularly strong in Egypt, Russia, and Argentina.

“At the same time, the company is engaged in an extensive cost reduction program. It’s a positive picture and PM

...

“Philip Morris International remains a buy, despite these difficult markets,” says Tom Slee in GordonPape’s Internet Wealth Builder. Here he reviews the global tobacco firm

track tom’s picks at:

http://trackthepros.com/stocks/category/552

“Spun off from the Altria Group earlier this year, Philip Morris International is off to a flying start.

“The company posted strong second-quarter earnings. After a special charge for its Rothmans acquisition, earnings came in at 81c a share, up from 69c a share the year before.

“The company had been reporting as a clearly defined division of Altria so it’s possible to make comparisons and plot progress.

“Gross revenues rose 17.6% to $15.6 billion with double-digit growth in all business segments, helped to some extent by currency benefits. Sales were particularly strong in Egypt, Russia, and Argentina.

“At the same time, the company is engaged in an extensive cost reduction program. It’s a positive picture and PM

...

Paulson & Company made the following KEY Q2 trades in its $6 billion hedge fund, which can be tracked at:

 

http://trackthepros.com/stocks/category/273

 

New Positions

Bank of America

Cheniere Energy

Philip Morris International

 

Sold

Alcoa

Altria

BCE

PDL BioPharma

 

Reduced Positions

Yahoo

Hercules Offshore

      

Helping itself to a much larger share of the faster growing "smokeless tobacco" market in the U.S. and overseas, Marlboro-maker Altria Group (MO) has announced it will be purchasing UST (UST) for $10.3 billion.  The buzz has indeed already begun to take hold: MO shares are up 2.2% thus far today, and UST is up 1.3%.

There has been minimal analyst estimate revision activity for either Big Tobacco firm in the past month.  The acquisition looks to provide synergies and profit growth, especially after Altria spun-off its profitable overseas counterpart, Philip Morris International (PM) this past spring.

Zacks senior consumer goods industry analyst Steven Ralston, CFA covers both companies, but has kept his Hold recommendations in tact ahead of September quarter earnings.  About Altria, he had this comment: "Several large punitive damage awards have been upheld by appellate courts, especially the $50 million judgment paid out in the Boeken

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International tobacco is the way to go for investors who want to keep their money safe in this volatile economy, says Charles Norton, co-portfolio manager of Vice Fund.

Track his picks at:

http://trackthepros.com/categories.php?category_id=605

“We’re focused on sectors that have the potential to do very well regardless of economic conditions,” said Norton. The international tobacco industry represents one of many sectors.

“[The tobacco sector is] internationally a great business — not at all the same type of environment that we are seeing in the U.S.,” he said.

Recommendations:

Philip Morris International

PHILIP MORRIS INTL INC PM 54.21 -0.40 -0.73% NYSE

“They have broad geographic exposure — fantastic first-rate management

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