British American Tobacco (NYSE:BTI) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $47.86 and last traded at $47.93, with a volume of 2471426 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BTI shares. Wall Street Zen raised British American Tobacco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of British American Tobacco in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

British American Tobacco Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $98.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.31. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On British American Tobacco

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 38,873,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,411,179,000 after purchasing an additional 5,673,619 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its position in British American Tobacco by 59.8% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 9,598,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,089,000 after buying an additional 3,590,916 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,232,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,641,000 after buying an additional 3,127,046 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 20.4% during the first quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 12,021,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,318,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040,011 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 2,565.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,079,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,521,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001,311 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.