Meet Samuel – Your Personal Investing Prophet
- Start a conversation with TipRanks’ trusted, data-backed investment intelligence
- Ask Samuel about stocks, your portfolio, or the market and get instant, personalized insights in seconds
The latest update is out from British American Tobacco ( (GB:BATS) ).
British American Tobacco has repurchased 125,797 ordinary shares on 18 March 2026 from Banco Santander as part of its previously announced buyback programme, paying a volume‑weighted average price of 4,416.2721p per share. The company plans to cancel the shares, reducing its free‑float and signalling continued capital returns to investors.
After this transaction and cancellation, British American Tobacco will have 2,173,256,202 ordinary shares in issue with voting rights and will hold 132,976,327 shares in treasury. The updated capital structure may affect major shareholders’ notification thresholds under UK disclosure rules and underscores the group’s ongoing use of buybacks alongside dividends in its shareholder‑return strategy.
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 company that manufactures and sells cigarettes and other nicotine products across multiple markets. Listed in London, it is one of the sector’s largest players, with a broad international shareholder base and significant daily trading volumes in its ordinary shares.
Average Trading Volume: 4,177,425
Technical Sentiment Signal: Buy
Current Market Cap: £94.97B
See more insights into BATS stock on TipRanks’ Stock Analysis page.