British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has raised the price target for British American Tobacco from GBX 2,800 to GBX 3,300, while maintaining a "neutral" rating on the stock, indicating a potential downside from its previous close.
• Other firms, including Deutsche Bank and Citigroup, have increased their price targets for British American Tobacco, with Deutsche Bank now rating it a "buy."
• The company's insider activity reflects confidence in its performance, with Tadeu Marroco purchasing shares and insiders acquiring a total of 829 shares valued at over $2.7 million in the last quarter.

British American Tobacco (LON:BATS - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from GBX 2,800 ($37.18) to GBX 3,300 ($43.82) in a report released on Monday,Digital Look reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target suggests a potential downside of 19.98% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on BATS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of British American Tobacco from GBX 4,200 ($55.77) to GBX 4,400 ($58.43) and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a report on Wednesday, July 30th.

British American Tobacco Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of BATS opened at GBX 4,124 ($54.76) on Monday. British American Tobacco has a 1-year low of GBX 2,556.23 ($33.94) and a 1-year high of GBX 4,149 ($55.09). The company has a 50-day moving average of GBX 3,624.77 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 3,315.70. The firm has a market capitalization of £90.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.65, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 74.63, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

British American Tobacco (LON:BATS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported GBX 162.90 ($2.16) EPS for the quarter. British American Tobacco had a negative net margin of 52.84% and a negative return on equity of 25.94%. On average, research analysts expect that British American Tobacco will post 361.5079365 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Tadeu Marroco acquired 601 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 3,296 ($43.77) per share, with a total value of £19,808.96 ($26,303.23). Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 829 shares of company stock valued at $2,751,446. 10.55% 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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