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British American Tobacco ( (GB:BATS) ) has provided an announcement.
British American Tobacco has entered into a new agreement with Merrill Lynch International to repurchase and cancel its ordinary shares between 23 April and 29 June 2026, as part of its ongoing capital reduction buyback programme. Merrill Lynch will execute the trades independently within pre-set parameters and under the authority granted at the 2026 AGM, which allows the company to buy back up to 217,492,219 shares at prices defined by UK listing and safe harbour regulations.
The company will also change how it reports these repurchases, moving from daily to consolidated weekly announcements in line with updated UK Listing Rule 9.6.6, while keeping the existing level of disclosure detail. The move underscores British American Tobacco’s commitment to returning capital to shareholders and actively managing its share capital structure, with implications for share supply, earnings per share and overall market valuation.
The most recent analyst rating on (GB:BATS) stock is a Buy with a £52.00 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 and nicotine company, best known for manufacturing and marketing cigarettes and next-generation nicotine products. The group focuses on large developed and emerging markets, where it sells a wide portfolio of brands while actively managing its capital structure through programmes such as share buybacks.
Average Trading Volume: 4,710,462
Technical Sentiment Signal: Strong Buy
Current Market Cap: £91.44B
See more data about BATS stock on TipRanks’ Stock Analysis page.