British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $51.00.

BTI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of British American Tobacco from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Kepler Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of British American Tobacco in a research report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research report on Wednesday.

British American Tobacco Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of BTI opened at $57.05 on Friday. British American Tobacco has a 52 week low of $34.82 and a 52 week high of $59.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $54.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On British American Tobacco

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 64,057,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,399,352,000 after buying an additional 1,891,042 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in British American Tobacco by 2.6% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,068,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,171,399,000 after acquiring an additional 559,189 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its stake in British American Tobacco by 20.7% in the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 14,503,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,473,000 after acquiring an additional 2,482,737 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 59.8% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 9,598,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,089,000 after acquiring an additional 3,590,916 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 12,870.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,470,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $502,687,000 after purchasing an additional 9,397,693 shares during the last quarter. 16.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

British American Tobacco Company Profile

British American Tobacco p.l.c. engages in the provision of tobacco and nicotine products to consumers worldwide. It also offers vapour, heated, and modern oral nicotine products; combustible cigarettes; and traditional oral products, such as snus and moist snuff. The company offers its products under the Vuse, glo, Velo, Grizzly, Kodiak, Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, Rothmans, Camel, Natural American Spirit, Newport, Vogue, Viceroy, Kool, Peter Stuyvesant, Craven A, State Express 555 and Shuang Xi brands.