British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• British American Tobacco's stock price has recently risen above its 200-day moving average, with shares last trading at GBX 4,232.66 ($57.07).
• Analysts have set varied price targets for the stock, with recommendations ranging from "buy" to "neutral," and a current consensus target price of GBX 3,960.
• Insider activity shows confidence, with several insiders recently purchasing shares at an average price of GBX 4,131.

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (LON:BATS - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 3,448.12 ($46.56) and traded as high as GBX 4,271 ($57.67). British American Tobacco shares last traded at GBX 4,232.66 ($57.15), with a volume of 13,342,056 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a GBX 3,000 price objective on shares of British American Tobacco in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of British American Tobacco from GBX 4,800 to GBX 5,200 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of British American Tobacco from GBX 2,800 to GBX 3,300 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, British American Tobacco has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of GBX 3,960.

British American Tobacco Trading Up 1.2%

The business has a fifty day moving average of GBX 3,929.52 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 3,464.65. 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 has a market capitalization of £91.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 3,011.70, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.27.

British American Tobacco (LON:BATS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported GBX 162.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. British American Tobacco had a negative return on equity of 25.94% and a negative net margin of 52.84%. Analysts anticipate that British American Tobacco p.l.c. will post 361.5079365 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Tadeu Marroco bought 396 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 4,131 per share, for a total transaction of £16,358.76. Also, insider Soraya Benchikh bought 55 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 4,131 per share, for a total transaction of £2,272.05. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 646 shares of company stock worth $2,664,666. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.