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An announcement from British American Tobacco ( (GB:BATS) ) is now available.
British American Tobacco has repurchased 163,293 ordinary shares on 14 April 2026 from Banco Santander under its ongoing buyback programme, paying a volume-weighted average price of 4,225.5206p per share. The company plans to cancel these shares, leaving 2,171,421,237 ordinary shares in issue with voting rights and 132,669,859 shares held in treasury, a move that marginally enhances earnings per share and may affect significant shareholding thresholds for investors.
The transaction, conducted on the London Stock Exchange under the shareholder authority granted at the 2025 AGM, underscores BAT’s continued use of share buybacks as a capital-allocation tool alongside dividends. By shrinking its free-float share count while maintaining a substantial treasury position, BAT reinforces its commitment to shareholder returns and preserves flexibility for future balance-sheet and capital-structure management.
The most recent analyst rating on (GB:BATS) stock is a Hold with a £41.50 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on British American Tobacco stock, see the GB:BATS Stock Forecast page.
Spark’s Take on BATS Stock
According to Spark, TipRanks’ AI Analyst, BATS is a Outperform.
The score is driven primarily by solid-but-not-clean financial performance (profitability strength offset by leverage and a notable 2025 cash-flow decline). Valuation is supportive due to the high dividend yield and moderate P/E, while technicals are broadly neutral. Earnings-call guidance and capital-return plans help, but are tempered by vapor/illicit pressures and regional weakness.
To see Spark’s full report on BATS stock, click here.
More about British American Tobacco
British American Tobacco is a global tobacco group that manufactures and sells cigarettes and other nicotine products. The company focuses on traditional combustible tobacco brands while expanding into next-generation products such as vapour, heated tobacco and oral nicotine to defend market share and sustain cash generation.
Average Trading Volume: 4,539,343
Technical Sentiment Signal: Strong Buy
Current Market Cap: £94.16B
See more data about BATS stock on TipRanks’ Stock Analysis page.