British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

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

British American Tobacco Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE BTI traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $39.67. 1,878,735 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,340,901. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $37.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.36. British American Tobacco has a 52 week low of $28.25 and a 52 week high of $39.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On British American Tobacco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in British American Tobacco by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 16,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 26.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 113,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,658,000 after purchasing an additional 23,626 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in British American Tobacco during the second quarter worth $408,000. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 104.6% in the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 14,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 7,301 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 43.9% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 36,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 11,158 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 16.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on BTI. Barclays raised British American Tobacco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of British American Tobacco from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $33.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group upgraded British American Tobacco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of British American Tobacco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th.

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.