British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" on British American Tobacco from 10 firms (8 buy, 2 sell), with an average 1‑year target price of $51.00.
• Major institutions have been increasing positions—Capital World Investors added ~9.4M shares and other large managers (Orbis Allan Gray, Capital International, Bank of America) also boosted holdings—leaving institutions and hedge funds owning about 16.16% of the stock.
• BAT announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8349 (annualized $3.34), which represents a dividend yield of about 5.7%.

Shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $51.00.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BTI. Weiss Ratings upgraded British American Tobacco from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered British American Tobacco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 5th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets began coverage on British American Tobacco in a research note on Friday, December 12th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BTI. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in British American Tobacco by 12,870.7% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,470,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $502,687,000 after purchasing an additional 9,397,693 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its holdings in British American Tobacco by 20.7% in the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 14,503,968 shares of the company's stock valued at $686,473,000 after purchasing an additional 2,482,737 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in British American Tobacco by 3.0% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 64,057,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,399,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,891,042 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in British American Tobacco by 29.5% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,934,792 shares of the company's stock valued at $368,099,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in British American Tobacco in the second quarter valued at about $63,725,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.16% of the company's stock.

British American Tobacco Trading Down 1.8%

BTI stock opened at $58.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. British American Tobacco has a 1 year low of $39.55 and a 1 year high of $63.22. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.75.

British American Tobacco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 29th will be paid a $0.8349 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 29th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%.

British American Tobacco Company Profile

British American Tobacco plc (BTI) is a multinational tobacco manufacturer and nicotine products company headquartered in London. Founded in 1902 as a joint venture to commercialize tobacco products outside the United States, the company has grown into one of the world's largest tobacco firms with a long history in manufacturing and global distribution of combustible tobacco products.

BAT's core business remains the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products under a portfolio of well-known consumer brands, including Dunhill, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, Kent and Rothmans.

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