British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (LON:BATS) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as GBX 3,013 ($37.22) and last traded at GBX 3,009 ($37.17), with a volume of 16420826 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2,997 ($37.02).

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a GBX 2,800 ($34.58) price objective on shares of British American Tobacco in a report on Thursday, December 12th.

British American Tobacco Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 74.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is GBX 2,928.69 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 2,788.25. The firm has a market capitalization of £66.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -483.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.27.

British American Tobacco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 19th will be given a GBX 58.88 ($0.73) dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. This is an increase from British American Tobacco’s previous dividend of $57.72. British American Tobacco’s dividend payout ratio is -3,794.21%.

Insider Activity at British American Tobacco

In other news, insider Tadeu Marroco purchased 48 shares of British American Tobacco stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of GBX 2,716 ($33.55) per share, for a total transaction of £1,303.68 ($1,610.28). In the last 90 days, insiders bought 63 shares of company stock worth $173,913. 10.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About British American Tobacco

BAT was founded in 1902 and was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1912. A constituent of the FTSE 100 since its creation in 1984, we have evolved, becoming the only truly global company in our sector.

BAT is transforming and is well positioned with a global footprint and multi-category portfolio.