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

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.00.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BTI. Weiss Ratings upgraded British American Tobacco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered British American Tobacco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On British American Tobacco

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,612,000. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 44.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 421,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,389,000 after buying an additional 129,500 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 427,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,680,000 after acquiring an additional 24,114 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 252.5% in the 3rd quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 24,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,319,000 after acquiring an additional 17,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,779,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,597,000 after acquiring an additional 303,136 shares in the last quarter. 16.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

British American Tobacco Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE:BTI opened at $57.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. British American Tobacco has a 1-year low of $40.12 and a 1-year high of $63.22. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.92.

British American Tobacco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 29th will be given a dividend of $0.8349 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 29th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%.

About British American Tobacco

British American Tobacco plc (BTI) is a multinational tobacco manufacturer and nicotine products company headquartered in London. Founded in 1902 as a joint venture to commercialize tobacco products outside the United States, the company has grown into one of the world’s largest tobacco firms with a long history in manufacturing and global distribution of combustible tobacco products.

BAT’s core business remains the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products under a portfolio of well-known consumer brands, including Dunhill, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, Kent and Rothmans.