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

Key Points

• British American Tobacco's stock has crossed above its 200-day moving average, currently trading at GBX 3,854 ($51.75), significantly higher than its moving average of GBX 3,637.09.
• Analyst ratings are mixed, with Royal Bank Of Canada downgrading the stock to an "underperform" rating while Jefferies Financial Group and Deutsche Bank have raised their target prices and maintained "buy" ratings.
• Insider buying activity was noted, with two insiders purchasing shares recently, which indicates confidence in the company's future performance.

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 3,637.09 ($48.83) and traded as high as GBX 3,891 ($52.24). British American Tobacco shares last traded at GBX 3,854 ($51.75), with a volume of 4,110,344 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BATS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded British American Tobacco to an "underperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from GBX 3,000 to GBX 3,400 in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on 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 reissued a "buy" rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of GBX 4,040.

British American Tobacco Trading Down 0.0%

The firm has a market cap of £84.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2,765.97, a PEG 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 business has a fifty day moving average of GBX 4,113.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 3,637.09.

British American Tobacco (LON:BATS - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 25.94% and a negative net margin of 52.84%. As a group, equities analysts expect that British American Tobacco p.l.c. will post 361.5079365 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Tadeu Marroco bought 170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 4,182 per share, for a total transaction of £7,109.40. Also, insider Soraya Benchikh bought 55 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 4,131 per share, for a total transaction of £2,272.05. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 635 shares of company stock worth $2,631,482. 0.13% of the stock is 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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