British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Key Points

• British American Tobacco experienced a 26.8% decline in short interest in August, with a total of 8,180,000 shares sold short as of August 31st.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds hold approximately 16.16% of British American Tobacco's stock, with notable increases in holdings from firms like Two Sigma Advisers LP and Continuum Advisory LLC.
• Analysts have mixed views on British American Tobacco, with ratings ranging from "buy" to "underperform" , reflecting varying target prices between $40.00 and $62.00.

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 8,180,000 shares, a drop of 26.8% from the August 15th total of 11,180,000 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 5,630,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days. Based on an average trading volume of 5,630,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of British American Tobacco

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 39.6% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 877,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,853,000 after acquiring an additional 248,700 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in British American Tobacco by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Novem Group acquired a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco in the fourth quarter worth $217,000. Poehling Capital Management INC. boosted its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Poehling Capital Management INC. now owns 113,339 shares of the company's stock worth $4,116,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the period. Finally, Auxier Asset Management grew its stake in British American Tobacco by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 217,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,916,000 after buying an additional 18,343 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BTI shares. Argus upgraded British American Tobacco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $62.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered British American Tobacco from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of British American Tobacco in a report on Friday, August 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of British American Tobacco in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a report on Friday, June 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.00.

British American Tobacco Price Performance

NYSE BTI opened at $55.80 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $55.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.66. British American Tobacco has a 12-month low of $34.17 and a 12-month high of $59.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

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.

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