British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) Short Interest Update

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,270,000 shares, a drop of 21.7% from the December 15th total of 6,730,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,760,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BTI shares. StockNews.com lowered British American Tobacco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered British American Tobacco from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $33.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays upgraded British American Tobacco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On British American Tobacco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTI. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in British American Tobacco by 41.8% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 5,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 76.4% during the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 4,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after acquiring an additional 1,835 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 9.0% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 122,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,801,000 after acquiring an additional 10,138 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 3.9% during the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 82,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,539,000 after acquiring an additional 3,048 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 34.9% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 120,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,723,000 after acquiring an additional 31,129 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.16% of the company’s stock.

British American Tobacco Stock Up 0.3 %

BTI traded up $0.11 on Thursday, hitting $35.91. The company had a trading volume of 3,667,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,204,041. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $36.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.96. British American Tobacco has a 12-month low of $28.25 and a 12-month high of $39.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

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.