Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of British American Tobacco Call Options (NYSE:BTI)

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders purchased 9,892 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 50% compared to the average volume of 6,607 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BTI. Bank of America began coverage on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of British American Tobacco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, British American Tobacco presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Institutional Trading of British American Tobacco

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 87.0% during 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 position in shares of British American Tobacco by 100.0% during 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. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 294.9% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 78.5% during 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. 16.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

British American Tobacco Price Performance

Shares of BTI stock traded up $0.15 on Friday, reaching $48.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,795,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,137,450. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $43.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.46. British American Tobacco has a 1 year low of $30.53 and a 1 year high of $49.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $100.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 0.31.

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.