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Altria — Top covered call setups ranked by yield and downside protection
Altria (MO) operates in the Consumer Staples sector and has actively traded listed options. Among current candidates, the strongest income setup sits at the $70 strike with 39 days to expiration. IV Rank 54% is 4pp above the Consumer Staples sector median of 50%. Moderate yield — shorter DTE or closer strikes could improve returns per cycle. See Wheel Strategy for the full CSP-to-CC cycle.
Strike Placement
14.9% ann.Ranked #1 of 16 contracts by CC Score — balancing call yield, downside protection, and liquidity.
CC Score = Income (22%) + Safety (18%) + Liquidity (18%) + Quality (14%) + Event (12%) + IV (8%) + Execution (8%)Annualized return, delta, bid-ask spread, open interest, earnings proximity, IV rank, DTE
VolRadar proprietary composite score using ORATS chain data
CC Score optimizes for income generation, not total return. Covered calls cap upside — stocks that rally strongly will underperform a buy-and-hold approach. Past CC returns do not predict future yields.
Every covered call strike sorted by CC Score. Higher score = better risk-adjusted income potential.
★ = Highest risk-adjusted CC Score across all expirations and strikes.
| Strike | Premium | Ann. Yield* | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| $67 | $0.88 | 43.6% | 58 |
| $68 | $0.49 | 24.4% |
Quantitative screening, not investment advice. Verify with your broker. Disclaimer
Altria's best covered call currently offers 14.9% annualized at the $70 strike. Premiums are relatively thin in the current IV environment. Shareholders may consider shorter DTE expirations to accelerate theta decay or wait for IV expansion before initiating new covered call positions.
VolRadar's CC Score ranks every Altria covered call opportunity from 0 to 100 across seven weighted dimensions: Income potential (22%), Safety (18%), Liquidity (18%), Underlying Quality (14%), Event Safety (12%), IV Opportunity (8%), and Execution Quality (8%). The score updates daily after market close, reflecting the latest option chain data.
The top-ranked covered call for Altria is the $70 strike expiring 2026-05-15 (39 DTE), offering 14.9% annualized return with a delta of 0.30. It earns a CC Score of 68 out of 100. Data is updated daily after market close.
For Altria, delta 0.20–0.30 is a common range for covered calls. This gives 70–80% probability of the option expiring worthless while collecting meaningful premium. Lower delta (0.15–0.20) is more conservative, while 0.30–0.40 generates more income but has higher assignment probability.
The CC Score (0–100) ranks covered call opportunities across 7 dimensions: Income potential (22%), Safety (18%), Liquidity (18%), Underlying Quality (14%), Event Safety (12%), IV Opportunity (8%), and Execution Quality (8%). Higher scores mean better risk-adjusted opportunities. Sort by CC Score to find the best strike and expiration combo for Altria.
Free embeddable tool: IV Rank Gauge — add live IV data to any site. No signup, no API key.
This is ★ Top Ranked of 16 contracts across 6 expirations. ↓ Find it below
| 56 |
| $68 | $0.68 | 33.6% | 56 |
| Strike | Premium | Ann. Yield* | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| $67 | $1.21 | 36.9% | 56 |
| $68 | $0.80 | 24.4% | 52 |
| $69 | $0.49 | 15.1% | 50 |
| Strike | Premium | Ann. Yield* | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| $68⚠️ Spans earnings | $1.35 | 29.6% | 58 |
| $67⚠️ Spans earnings | $1.79 | 39.3% | 56 |
| $70⚠️ Spans earnings | $0.70 | 15.5% | 56 |
| $69⚠️ Spans earnings | $0.98 | 21.6% | 52 |
| $72⚠️ Spans earnings | $0.46 | 10.0% | 52 |
| Strike | Premium | Ann. Yield* | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| $70⚠️ Spans earnings | $0.95 | 16.4% | 50 |
| Strike | Premium | Ann. Yield* | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| $70★ TOP⚠️ Spans earnings | $1.06 | 14.9% | 68 |
| $68⚠️ Spans earnings | $1.98 | 27.8% | 65 |
| $73⚠️ Spans earnings | $0.51 | 7.2% | 65 |
| Strike | Premium | Ann. Yield* | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| $68⚠️ Spans earnings | $1.98 | 23.5% | 48 |
*Annualized yield assumes hold to expiration with no early assignment. Actual results may vary.
Weekly covered calls (7–14 DTE) offer faster theta decay and more flexibility but require active management. Monthly covered calls (30–45 DTE) balance time premium with less frequent rolling. For Altria, current elevated IV makes both viable — weeklies capture the rich premium faster. The CC Score ranks both DTE ranges so you can compare directly.
The primary risk is capped upside: if Altria rallies sharply, you are obligated to sell at the strike price and miss gains above it. At the current top-ranked $70 strike (5.2% OTM), any rally beyond that level means you sell shares below market price. To contextualize: covered calls are best suited for sideways-to-mildly-bullish outlooks. If you expect a significant move higher, consider waiting to sell the call or using a wider strike. The CC Score penalizes strikes with elevated event risk to help you avoid the worst setups.
The top-ranked Altria covered call has 39 DTE, beyond the typical 30–45 day sweet spot. Longer-dated calls collect more total premium but have slower theta decay per day and more exposure to price moves. Consider whether you want to commit shares for that duration, and compare the annualized yield against shorter expirations in the table.