British American Tobacco (NYSE:BTI) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) gapped up prior to trading 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 trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

British American Tobacco Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $36.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.24.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTI. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 35.6% in the third 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. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake 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 during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 14,432 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 25.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 131,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,824,000 after purchasing an additional 26,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 89.6% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 66,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,419,000 after buying an additional 31,250 shares during the last quarter. 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.