British American Tobacco (NYSE:BTI) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $40.25, but opened at $41.50. British American Tobacco shares last traded at $41.42, with a volume of 1,399,744 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

British American Tobacco Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $82.84 billion, a PE ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 0.38. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.76.

British American Tobacco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given 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 currently 60.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On British American Tobacco

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 493,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,922,000 after purchasing an additional 7,875 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in British American Tobacco by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,094,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,343,000 after buying an additional 1,196,020 shares during the period. Cove Street Capital LLC purchased a new stake in British American Tobacco during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,050,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in British American Tobacco by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 46,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,681,000 after acquiring an additional 14,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 196,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,121,000 after purchasing an additional 17,478 shares during the period. 16.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.