UPDATE: Stifel Nicolaus Upgrades Altria Group to Buy

Stifel Nicolaus is out with its report today on Altria Group (NYSE: MO), upgrading MO from Hold to Buy.

In a note to clients, Stifel Nicolaus writes, "We are upgrading Altria to Buy from Hold and establishing a $29 target price. The foundation for our upgrade is the strong pricing environment in the category and Altria's balance between market share growth and profitability, clearly favoring profit growth over sheer market share gains as evidenced in its recent results."

Shares of MO closed Thursday at $26.23.