British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) Short Interest Up 39.1% in May

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,210,000 shares, a growth of 39.1% from the April 30th total of 8,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,920,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 0.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of British American Tobacco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of British American Tobacco in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.00.

British American Tobacco Price Performance

BTI stock traded up $0.96 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $46.35. 6,539,730 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,998,836. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.83. British American Tobacco has a 12 month low of $30.29 and a 12 month high of $46.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.52 and a beta of 0.32.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On British American Tobacco

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 38,873,006 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,411,179,000 after buying an additional 5,673,619 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in British American Tobacco by 59.8% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 9,598,465 shares of the company's stock worth $397,089,000 after purchasing an additional 3,590,916 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in British American Tobacco by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,232,402 shares of the company's stock valued at $371,641,000 after purchasing an additional 3,127,046 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 20.4% in the first quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 12,021,231 shares of the company's stock worth $497,318,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040,011 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 2,565.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,079,322 shares of the company's stock worth $75,521,000 after buying an additional 2,001,311 shares during the period. 16.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.