British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (LON:BATS) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as GBX 4,647 and last traded at GBX 4,540.06, with a volume of 2616433 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 4,569.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of British American Tobacco from GBX 4,450 to GBX 4,850 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of British American Tobacco from GBX 4,400 to GBX 4,900 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of British American Tobacco from GBX 3,300 to GBX 4,150 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 5,200 price target on shares of British American Tobacco in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of GBX 4,500.

British American Tobacco Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 4,307.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 4,176.97. The company has a market cap of £100.09 billion, a PE ratio of 33.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 74.63.

British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported GBX 176.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. British American Tobacco had a negative return on equity of 25.94% and a negative net margin of 52.84%. On average, equities analysts predict that British American Tobacco p.l.c. will post 361.5079365 EPS for the current fiscal year.

British American Tobacco Company Profile

BAT was founded in 1902 and was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1912. A constituent of the FTSE 100 since its creation in 1984, we have evolved, becoming the only truly global company in our sector.

BAT is transforming and is well positioned with a global footprint and multi-category portfolio. Our corporate purpose is to build A Better Tomorrow™, reducing the health impact of our business, by offering adult consumers a greater choice of enjoyable and less risky*† products compared to cigarettes.