British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) Share Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (LON:BATS)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 3,662.11 ($49.09) and traded as high as GBX 3,843 ($51.51). British American Tobacco shares last traded at GBX 3,785.22 ($50.74), with a volume of 311,132,719 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BATS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of British American Tobacco to an “underperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from GBX 3,000 to GBX 3,400 in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of British American Tobacco from GBX 4,800 to GBX 5,200 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of British American Tobacco from GBX 4,200 to GBX 4,400 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of British American Tobacco from GBX 2,800 to GBX 3,300 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of GBX 4,040.

British American Tobacco Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is GBX 4,077.89 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 3,662.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 74.63, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of £82.53 billion, a PE ratio of 2,717.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.27.

British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported GBX 162.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. British American Tobacco had a negative net margin of 52.84% and a negative return on equity of 25.94%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that British American Tobacco p.l.c. will post 361.5079365 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at British American Tobacco

In related news, insider Soraya Benchikh purchased 55 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of GBX 4,131 per share, for a total transaction of £2,272.05. Also, insider Tadeu Marroco purchased 396 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 4,131 per share, with a total value of £16,358.76. Insiders bought a total of 635 shares of company stock valued at $2,631,482 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

About British American Tobacco

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.