British American Tobacco (NYSE:BTI) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $63.57 and last traded at $63.4320, with a volume of 4079022 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $60.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BTI shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of British American Tobacco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 5th. Weiss Ratings raised British American Tobacco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, British American Tobacco presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

British American Tobacco Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.65. 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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 29th will be paid a $0.8349 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On British American Tobacco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 12,870.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,470,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $502,687,000 after buying an additional 9,397,693 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its position in British American Tobacco by 20.7% during the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 14,503,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $686,473,000 after acquiring an additional 2,482,737 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in British American Tobacco by 3,899.7% during the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,362,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,658,000 after acquiring an additional 2,303,743 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 3.0% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 64,057,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,399,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,891,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 29.5% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,934,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,099,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578,860 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.16% of the company’s stock.

About British American Tobacco

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.