British American Tobacco Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:BTI)

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 9,892 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 50% compared to the average daily volume of 6,607 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised British American Tobacco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, British American Tobacco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On British American Tobacco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BTI. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 87.0% in the 1st quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in British American Tobacco by 100.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 610 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in British American Tobacco by 294.9% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in British American Tobacco during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its holdings in British American Tobacco by 78.5% during the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 632 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.16% of the company’s stock.

British American Tobacco Stock Performance

Shares of BTI stock opened at $48.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $100.40 billion, a PE ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 0.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. British American Tobacco has a 52-week low of $30.33 and a 52-week high of $49.05.

About British American Tobacco

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.