British American Tobacco (NYSE:BTI) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $37.91, but opened at $39.09. British American Tobacco shares last traded at $39.12, with a volume of 1,761,840 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BTI shares. Morgan Stanley cut shares of British American Tobacco from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com lowered British American Tobacco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays upgraded British American Tobacco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised British American Tobacco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday.

British American Tobacco Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $36.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in British American Tobacco by 35.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 207,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,599,000 after buying an additional 54,555 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in British American Tobacco by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 46,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 14,432 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in British American Tobacco by 26.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 113,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,658,000 after purchasing an additional 23,626 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 131,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,824,000 after buying an additional 26,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 89.6% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 66,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,419,000 after acquiring an additional 31,250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.16% of the company’s stock.

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.