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

Key Points

• British American Tobacco stock crossed above its 200-day moving average, trading as high as GBX 4,462 and last at GBX 4,436 (200‑day MA GBX 4,191.41) on volume of 36,890,648 shares and was up about 1.6%.
• Analysts have lifted price targets, with Citi at GBX 4,850, Deutsche Bank GBX 4,900 and Jefferies GBX 5,200; the stock’s consensus is a "Hold" with an average target of GBX 4,500 (three Buys, one Hold, one Sell).
• Key fundamentals include a market cap of £96.21 billion, a P/E of 12.71, debt-to-equity of 74.6 and solid profitability (net margin 30.23%, ROE 16.33%), with recent quarterly EPS of GBX 176.76.

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (LON:BATS - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of GBX 4,191.41 and traded as high as GBX 4,462. British American Tobacco shares last traded at GBX 4,436, with a volume of 36,890,648 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on British American Tobacco from GBX 3,300 to GBX 4,150 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on British American Tobacco from GBX 4,450 to GBX 4,850 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on British American Tobacco from GBX 4,400 to GBX 4,900 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 5,200 target price on shares of British American Tobacco in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of GBX 4,500.

British American Tobacco Trading Up 1.6%

The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 74.60. The stock has a market cap of £96.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.07. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is GBX 4,361.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 4,191.41.

British American Tobacco (LON:BATS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported GBX 176.76 earnings per share for the quarter. British American Tobacco had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 30.23%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that British American Tobacco p.l.c. will post 361.5079365 earnings per share for the current year.

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. Our corporate purpose is to build A Better Tomorrow™, reducing the health impact of our business, by offering adult consumers a greater choice of enjoyable and less risky*† products compared to cigarettes.

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