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

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (LON:BATS)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 3,689.64 ($49.18) and traded as high as GBX 3,894 ($51.91). British American Tobacco shares last traded at GBX 3,863 ($51.49), with a volume of 2,959,386 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

British American Tobacco Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 74.63. The stock has a market cap of £84.25 billion, a PE ratio of 27.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a fifty day moving average of GBX 4,023.99 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 3,689.64.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at British American Tobacco

In related news, insider Tadeu Marroco bought 396 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 4,131 per share, with a total value of £16,358.76. Also, insider Soraya Benchikh bought 55 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 4,131 per share, with a total value of £2,272.05. Insiders have purchased a total of 635 shares of company stock valued at $2,631,482 over the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.