British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) Given New GBX 3,300 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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 - Free Report) had its price objective boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from GBX 2,800 ($37.65) to GBX 3,300 ($44.38) in a report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on British American Tobacco from GBX 4,200 ($56.48) to GBX 4,400 ($59.17) and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of GBX 3,960 ($53.25).

British American Tobacco Price Performance

Shares of BATS stock traded up GBX 39 ($0.52) during trading hours on Monday, reaching GBX 4,228 ($56.86). The company had a trading volume of 3,284,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,394,089. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of GBX 3,693.60 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 3,344.48. The company has a market capitalization of £93.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.82, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.27. British American Tobacco has a 12-month low of GBX 2,556.23 ($34.38) and a 12-month high of GBX 4,244 ($57.07).

British American Tobacco (LON:BATS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported GBX 162.90 ($2.19) 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that British American Tobacco will post 361.5079365 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Tadeu Marroco acquired 396 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 4,131 ($55.55) per share, with a total value of £16,358.76 ($21,999.41). Also, insider Soraya Benchikh acquired 55 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 4,131 ($55.55) per share, for a total transaction of £2,272.05 ($3,055.47). Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 682 shares of company stock worth $2,649,800. 10.55% of the stock is owned by 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.