British American Tobacco Cancels Newly Repurchased Shares in Ongoing Buyback

British American Tobacco ( (GB:BATS) ) has shared an announcement.

British American Tobacco has repurchased 127,766 of its 25 pence ordinary shares on 19 March 2026 from Banco Santander as part of its ongoing share buyback programme. The company will cancel the shares, reducing the number of voting shares in issue to 2,173,128,436 and leaving 132,976,327 shares held in treasury, a move that tightens the free float and may enhance earnings per share while requiring some investors to reassess their disclosure thresholds under U.K. transparency rules.

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 p.l.c. is a global tobacco group that manufactures and sells cigarettes and other nicotine products. Listed in London, the company targets international markets with a portfolio of traditional combustible brands and newer, alternative nicotine offerings aimed at adult consumers.

Average Trading Volume: 4,169,337

Technical Sentiment Signal: Strong Buy

Current Market Cap: £94.38B

For detailed information about BATS stock, go to TipRanks’ Stock Analysis page.