British American Tobacco (NYSE:BTI) Stock Rating Upgraded by Argus

Key Points

• British American Tobacco has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Argus, with a price target of $62.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.69% from its previous close.
• Despite the upgrade, BTI has received mixed reviews from analysts, with five ratings as "buy" and two as "sell," leading to a consensus rating of "hold" and a price target of $51.00.
• Significant increases in holdings were reported among institutional investors, with GQG Partners LLC boosting its stake by 59.8% in the first quarter.

British American Tobacco (NYSE:BTI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Argus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Monday,Finviz reports. The firm presently has a $62.00 price target on the stock. Argus' price target indicates a potential upside of 10.69% from the company's previous close.

BTI has been the subject of several other reports. Wall Street Zen cut British American Tobacco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on British American Tobacco in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut British American Tobacco from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of British American Tobacco in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.00.

British American Tobacco Trading Up 1.0%

British American Tobacco stock opened at $56.01 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. British American Tobacco has a 52 week low of $34.17 and a 52 week high of $59.29. The company has a market capitalization of $115.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $53.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.85.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On British American Tobacco

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BTI. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 59.8% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 9,598,465 shares of the company's stock valued at $397,089,000 after purchasing an additional 3,590,916 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 2,066.9% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,476,001 shares of the company's stock valued at $164,519,000 after buying an additional 3,315,589 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 20.7% in the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 14,503,968 shares of the company's stock valued at $686,473,000 after buying an additional 2,482,737 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 833.5% in the 2nd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 2,121,918 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,430,000 after buying an additional 1,894,617 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in British American Tobacco by 201.6% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,748,324 shares of the company's stock worth $130,078,000 after purchasing an additional 1,837,106 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.16% of the company's stock.

British American Tobacco Company Profile

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.

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