British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) Shares Down 7.6% – Here’s What Happened

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (LON:BATS)’s stock price dropped 7.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as GBX 3,104 ($38.64) and last traded at GBX 3,137.04 ($39.05). Approximately 38,920,461 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 27% from the average daily volume of 30,690,359 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 3,394 ($42.25).

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a GBX 2,800 ($34.85) price objective on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

British American Tobacco Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is GBX 3,011.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 2,860.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 74.14. The stock has a market capitalization of £67.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -492.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.27.

British American Tobacco Increases Dividend

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

British American Tobacco Company Profile

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.