British American Tobacco (NYSE:BTI) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $42.74, but opened at $38.68. British American Tobacco shares last traded at $38.53, with a volume of 3,688,054 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BTI has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group upgraded British American Tobacco from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered British American Tobacco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

British American Tobacco Stock Down 2.0 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $37.83 and a 200 day moving average of $36.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

British American Tobacco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 30th will be paid a $0.7391 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 30th.

Institutional Trading of British American Tobacco

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 4.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 17,185 shares of the company's stock worth $629,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in British American Tobacco by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 143,916 shares of the company's stock worth $5,264,000 after acquiring an additional 35,661 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of British American Tobacco in the third quarter valued at approximately $336,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 6.9% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 34,682 shares of the company's stock worth $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,239 shares during the period. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco in the 3rd quarter worth $274,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.16% 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.