British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) Downgraded by Royal Bank Of Canada to Underperform

Key Points

• British American Tobacco was downgraded by Royal Bank Of Canada to an "underperform" rating with a target price of GBX 3,400, indicating a potential downside of 16.21% from its previous close.
• Other analysts have mixed ratings, with JPMorgan raising their target to GBX 3,300 and Jefferies increasing theirs to GBX 5,200, while the consensus rating remains a "Hold" at a target price of GBX 4,040.
• Despite the downgrade, insiders have been actively purchasing shares, with multiple transactions occurring at prices around GBX 4,131 to GBX 4,182 recently.

British American Tobacco (LON:BATS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada to an "underperform" rating in a report issued on Tuesday,London Stock Exchange reports. They presently have a GBX 3,400 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of GBX 3,000. Royal Bank Of Canada's price objective would suggest a potential downside of 16.21% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on BATS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of British American Tobacco from GBX 2,800 to GBX 3,300 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of British American Tobacco from GBX 4,800 to GBX 5,200 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of British American Tobacco from GBX 4,200 to GBX 4,400 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of GBX 4,040.

British American Tobacco Stock Down 2.4%

BATS opened at GBX 4,058 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 74.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 3,940.66 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 3,474.69. British American Tobacco has a twelve month low of GBX 2,621.79 and a twelve month high of GBX 4,806. The stock has a market capitalization of £88.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2,913.14, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.27.

British American Tobacco (LON:BATS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported GBX 162.90 earnings per share for the quarter. British American Tobacco had a negative net margin of 52.84% and a negative return on equity of 25.94%. Equities research analysts forecast that British American Tobacco will post 361.5079365 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at British American Tobacco

In related news, insider Tadeu Marroco acquired 170 shares of British American Tobacco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of GBX 4,182 per share, for a total transaction of £7,109.40. Also, insider Soraya Benchikh acquired 55 shares of British American Tobacco stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 4,131 per share, with a total value of £2,272.05. Insiders have bought a total of 646 shares of company stock valued at $2,664,666 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.