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

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of 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 trading volume of 3,760,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BTI. Barclays raised shares of British American Tobacco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report 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 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com cut British American Tobacco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of British American Tobacco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday.

British American Tobacco Price Performance

NYSE:BTI traded up $0.41 during trading hours 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 has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.36. British American Tobacco has a 52-week low of $28.25 and a 52-week high of $39.77.

Institutional Trading of British American Tobacco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 67.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,105,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,914,000 after acquiring an additional 2,868,675 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 2,873,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,111,000 after purchasing an additional 206,117 shares in the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in British American Tobacco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,480,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,183,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP acquired a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco during the third quarter worth $27,118,000. 16.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.