British American Tobacco (NYSE:BTI) Stock Price Passes Below 50-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) shares passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.10 and traded as low as $56.00. British American Tobacco shares last traded at $56.75, with a volume of 4,635,110 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on BTI. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen cut British American Tobacco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on British American Tobacco in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of British American Tobacco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.00.

British American Tobacco Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

British American Tobacco (NYSE:BTI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($1.10). The business had revenue of $8.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that British American Tobacco p.l.c. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On British American Tobacco

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 64,389,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,645,500,000 after acquiring an additional 332,062 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in British American Tobacco by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,333,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,264,512,000 after acquiring an additional 264,511 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its holdings in British American Tobacco by 20.7% in the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 14,503,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,473,000 after acquiring an additional 2,482,737 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in British American Tobacco by 34.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,736,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $569,313,000 after purchasing an additional 2,494,576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,518,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $538,935,000 after purchasing an additional 47,858 shares during the period. 16.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

British American Tobacco Company Profile

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.