British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) Share Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• British American Tobacco's share price has risen above its 200-day moving average, currently trading at GBX 3,785.22 ($50.74) with a high of GBX 3,843 ($51.51).
• Multiple analysts have revised their price targets for the company, with Deutsche Bank increasing their target from GBX 4,200 to GBX 4,400 and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Insider trading activity has been noted, with two insiders recently purchasing shares at prices around GBX 4,131 to GBX 4,182, indicating potential confidence in the company's future performance.

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (LON:BATS - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of GBX 3,662.11 ($49.09) and traded as high as GBX 3,843 ($51.51). British American Tobacco shares last traded at GBX 3,785.22 ($50.74), with a volume of 311,132,719 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BATS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of British American Tobacco from GBX 4,200 to GBX 4,400 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of British American Tobacco to an "underperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from GBX 3,000 to GBX 3,400 in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of British American Tobacco from GBX 4,800 to GBX 5,200 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of British American Tobacco from GBX 2,800 to GBX 3,300 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, British American Tobacco currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of GBX 4,040.

British American Tobacco Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average is GBX 4,077.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 3,662.11. The stock has a market capitalization of £82.53 billion, a PE ratio of 2,717.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 74.63, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.88.

British American Tobacco (LON:BATS - Get Free Report) last announced its 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that British American Tobacco p.l.c. will post 361.5079365 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Soraya Benchikh acquired 55 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 4,131 per share, with a total value of £2,272.05. Also, insider Tadeu Marroco acquired 170 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 4,182 per share, for a total transaction of £7,109.40. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 635 shares of company stock worth $2,631,482. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

About British American Tobacco

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.

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