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

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors acquired 16,973 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 192% compared to the average volume of 5,810 call options.

British American Tobacco Stock Up 2.2%

BTI stock opened at $43.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.16. British American Tobacco has a 12 month low of $30.01 and a 12 month high of $44.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.05 billion, a PE ratio of 8.94 and a beta of 0.32.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BTI. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of British American Tobacco in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised British American Tobacco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised British American Tobacco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On British American Tobacco

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of British American Tobacco in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its holdings in British American Tobacco by 78.5% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. 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.