British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• British American Tobacco's share price has surpassed its 200-day moving average, indicating potential bullish momentum, with shares trading at GBX 3,934 ($52.50).
• Analysts have varied price targets for the stock, with Deutsche Bank raising their target to GBX 4,400, while others have assigned buy ratings, contributing to a consensus rating of "Hold."
• Insider activity shows recent purchases, with insiders acquiring a total of 639 shares valued at approximately $2.6 million over the last three months.

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (LON:BATS - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 3,594.63 ($47.97) and traded as high as GBX 3,965 ($52.92). British American Tobacco shares last traded at GBX 3,934 ($52.50), with a volume of 3,554,015 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of British American Tobacco from GBX 4,200 to GBX 4,400 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of British American Tobacco from GBX 4,800 to GBX 5,200 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of British American Tobacco to an "underperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from GBX 3,000 to GBX 3,400 in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, British American Tobacco presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of GBX 4,040.

British American Tobacco Stock Up 1.0%

The stock has a market cap of £85.88 billion, a PE ratio of 2,824.12, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company's 50-day moving average price is GBX 4,111.82 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 3,594.63.

British American Tobacco (LON:BATS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported GBX 162.90 EPS 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, analysts forecast that British American Tobacco p.l.c. will post 361.5079365 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at British American Tobacco

In other news, insider Tadeu Marroco bought 170 shares of British American Tobacco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 4,182 per share, with a total value of £7,109.40. Also, insider Soraya Benchikh bought 55 shares of British American Tobacco stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 4,131 per share, with a total value of £2,272.05. Insiders purchased a total of 639 shares of company stock valued at $2,643,162 over the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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