Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on British American Tobacco (NYSE:BTI)

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 57,007 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 746% compared to the typical volume of 6,737 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On British American Tobacco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BTI. Brucke Financial Inc. purchased a new position in British American Tobacco during the fourth quarter valued at $296,000. Sculati Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 138.0% in the fourth quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 11,300 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in British American Tobacco by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 17,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $640,000 after buying an additional 2,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in British American Tobacco by 42.2% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 21,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 6,367 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BTI shares. StockNews.com upgraded British American Tobacco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. UBS Group raised shares of British American Tobacco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th.

British American Tobacco Price Performance

Shares of British American Tobacco stock opened at $40.53 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $83.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.32 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.66. British American Tobacco has a 52 week low of $28.25 and a 52 week high of $42.74.

British American Tobacco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.7491 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. British American Tobacco’s payout ratio is 60.57%.

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.