British American Tobacco (NYSE:BTI) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) shares saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 5,594,539 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 20% from the previous session’s volume of 4,652,844 shares.The stock last traded at $40.02 and had previously closed at $40.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BTI shares. UBS Group raised shares of British American Tobacco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised British American Tobacco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th.

British American Tobacco Stock Up 2.4 %

The business’s 50-day moving average is $40.34 and its 200-day moving average is $37.83. The company has a market capitalization of $86.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

British American Tobacco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.7491 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. British American Tobacco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 78.5% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in British American Tobacco in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 294.9% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of British American Tobacco in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 16.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.