British American Tobacco Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:BTI)

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors bought 57,007 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 746% compared to the average volume of 6,737 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On British American Tobacco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 46.4% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 24,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $887,000 after purchasing an additional 7,686 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in British American Tobacco by 4.8% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 128,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,712,000 after buying an additional 5,900 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 131,871 shares of the company's stock worth $4,824,000 after buying an additional 26,863 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 166,353 shares of the company's stock worth $6,085,000 after acquiring an additional 43,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in British American Tobacco by 89.6% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 66,130 shares of the company's stock worth $2,419,000 after acquiring an additional 31,250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.16% of the company's stock.

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British American Tobacco Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of BTI stock traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $41.36. The stock had a trading volume of 6,398,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,570,347. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $39.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.66 billion, a PE ratio of 8.49 and a beta of 0.50. British American Tobacco has a 52-week low of $28.25 and a 52-week high of $42.74.

British American Tobacco Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.