British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) Short Interest Up 28.8% in October

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,440,000 shares, an increase of 28.8% from the October 15th total of 5,000,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,400,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

British American Tobacco Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of British American Tobacco stock traded up $0.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $36.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,444,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,774,350. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $36.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.06. British American Tobacco has a 52-week low of $28.25 and a 52-week high of $39.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BTI has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays raised shares of British American Tobacco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of British American Tobacco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of British American Tobacco from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $33.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On British American Tobacco

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc boosted its position in British American Tobacco by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc now owns 17,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 2.8% during the third quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in British American Tobacco by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 3,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 8,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 1.8% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 21,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.44% of the company’s stock.

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.