British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) Stock Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's Why

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (LON:BATS - Get Free Report) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of GBX 3,689.64 ($49.18) and traded as high as GBX 3,894 ($51.91). British American Tobacco shares last traded at GBX 3,863 ($51.49), with a volume of 2,959,386 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on BATS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on British American Tobacco from GBX 4,200 to GBX 4,400 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on British American Tobacco from GBX 4,800 to GBX 5,200 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered British American Tobacco to an "underperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from GBX 3,000 to GBX 3,400 in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, British American Tobacco currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of GBX 4,040.

British American Tobacco Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 74.63, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 4,023.99 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 3,689.64. The stock has a market capitalization of £84.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.27.

British American Tobacco (LON:BATS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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%. On average, analysts forecast that British American Tobacco p.l.c. will post 361.5079365 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Tadeu Marroco acquired 396 shares of British American Tobacco stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 4,131 per share, for a total transaction of £16,358.76. Also, insider Soraya Benchikh acquired 55 shares of British American Tobacco stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchased 635 shares of company stock worth $2,631,482. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company 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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