British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) Short Interest Update

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 3,620,239 shares, a decrease of 40.3% from the May 14th total of 6,068,684 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,316,724 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BTI shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded British American Tobacco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut British American Tobacco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 12,870.7% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,470,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $502,687,000 after purchasing an additional 9,397,693 shares in the last quarter. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,911,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 557,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,588,000 after purchasing an additional 23,141 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco during the third quarter valued at about $14,771,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 74.6% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 102,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,815,000 after purchasing an additional 43,886 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.16% of the company’s stock.

British American Tobacco Trading Down 2.1%

BTI stock traded down $1.31 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $61.01. 6,058,072 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,581,362. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.23. British American Tobacco has a 12 month low of $46.38 and a 12 month high of $67.30.

British American Tobacco Company Profile

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.