British American Tobacco (NYSE:BTI) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 5,594,539 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 20% from the previous session’s volume of 4,652,844 shares.The stock last traded at $40.02 and had previously closed at $40.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded British American Tobacco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. UBS Group upgraded British American Tobacco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

British American Tobacco Stock Up 0.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $83.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.79.

British American Tobacco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.7491 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. British American Tobacco’s payout ratio is presently 60.57%.

Institutional Trading of British American Tobacco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in British American Tobacco by 294.9% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its holdings in British American Tobacco by 334.4% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 846 shares during the last quarter. 16.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About British American Tobacco

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.