British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) Short Interest Down 40.3% in May

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 3,620,239 shares, a decrease of 40.3% from the May 14th total of 6,068,684 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,316,724 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded British American Tobacco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut British American Tobacco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

British American Tobacco Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of BTI opened at $61.38 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $60.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.28. British American Tobacco has a twelve month low of $46.38 and a twelve month high of $67.30.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors grew its position in British American Tobacco by 12,870.7% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,470,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $502,687,000 after acquiring an additional 9,397,693 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in British American Tobacco by 34.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,736,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,313,000 after acquiring an additional 2,494,576 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its position in British American Tobacco by 20.7% during 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 last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its position in British American Tobacco by 3,899.7% during the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,362,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,658,000 after acquiring an additional 2,303,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its position in British American Tobacco by 3.0% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 64,057,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,399,352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,891,042 shares during the last quarter. 16.16% of the stock is currently owned by 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.