British American Tobacco p.l.c. (LON:BATS) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Brokerages

Key Points

• British American Tobacco has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from six analysts: four buys, one hold and one sell. The average 12-month price target is GBX 4,875.
• Recent broker updates were mixed but generally positive: Jefferies raised its target to GBX 5,600 with a buy rating, Deutsche Bank maintained a buy rating with a GBX 5,100 target, while RBC raised its target to GBX 3,800 but retained an underperform rating.
• Insiders have been buying shares, acquiring 11,892 shares worth roughly $51.9 million over the past 90 days. The stock opened at GBX 4,452, compared with a 12-month range of GBX 3,794 to GBX 5,368.

Shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (LON:BATS - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is GBX 4,875.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BATS. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of British American Tobacco from GBX 5,500 to GBX 5,600 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of British American Tobacco from GBX 3,600 to GBX 3,800 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a GBX 5,100 price objective on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Thursday, October 1st.

Insider Activity at British American Tobacco

In related news, insider Tadeu Marroco purchased 377 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 4,214 per share, for a total transaction of £15,886.78. Also, insider Matthew Wright purchased 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 4,500 per share, with a total value of £247,500. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 11,892 shares of company stock worth $51,924,772. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

British American Tobacco Price Performance

Shares of British American Tobacco stock opened at GBX 4,452 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of £95.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.31, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 72.48. The business's fifty day moving average price is GBX 4,182.63 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 4,387.22. British American Tobacco has a twelve month low of GBX 3,794 and a twelve month high of GBX 5,368.

British American Tobacco (LON:BATS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported GBX 203.60 earnings per share for the quarter. British American Tobacco had a return on equity of 13.38% and a net margin of 24.99%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that British American Tobacco will post 361.51 earnings per share for the current year.

British American Tobacco Company Profile

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. Our corporate purpose is to build A Better Tomorrow™, reducing the health impact of our business, by offering adult consumers a greater choice of enjoyable and less risky*† products compared to cigarettes.

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