British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) Short Interest Update

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 6,569,362 shares, an increase of 21.0% from the February 26th total of 5,430,502 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,869,099 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

British American Tobacco Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE BTI traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $58.49. 5,393,699 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,029,684. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $59.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.60. British American Tobacco has a 52 week low of $37.96 and a 52 week high of $63.22. 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 Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BTI. Capital International Investors lifted its position in British American Tobacco by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 64,389,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,645,500,000 after acquiring an additional 332,062 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,333,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,264,512,000 after purchasing an additional 264,511 shares in the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 20.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in British American Tobacco by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,518,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $538,935,000 after buying an additional 47,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in British American Tobacco by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,934,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,099,000 after buying an additional 1,578,860 shares during the last quarter. 16.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Kepler Capital Markets assumed coverage on British American Tobacco in a report on Friday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of British American Tobacco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of British American Tobacco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, British American Tobacco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.00.

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.