British American Tobacco (NYSE:BTI) Sets New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $47.86 and last traded at $47.93, with a volume of 2471426 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $47.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BTI shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of British American Tobacco in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of British American Tobacco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, British American Tobacco presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.00.

British American Tobacco Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 0.31. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $43.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.29.

Institutional Trading of British American Tobacco

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in British American Tobacco by 87.0% in the first quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 602 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in British American Tobacco by 100.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 610 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its stake in British American Tobacco by 78.5% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 632 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 292.7% in the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 644 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of British American Tobacco in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. 16.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About British American Tobacco

British American Tobacco p.l.c. engages in the provision of tobacco and nicotine products to consumers worldwide. It also offers vapour, heated, and modern oral nicotine products; combustible cigarettes; and traditional oral products, such as snus and moist snuff. The company offers its products under the Vuse, glo, Velo, Grizzly, Kodiak, Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, Rothmans, Camel, Natural American Spirit, Newport, Vogue, Viceroy, Kool, Peter Stuyvesant, Craven A, State Express 555 and Shuang Xi brands.