British American Tobacco Cancels Newly Repurchased Shares Under Buyback Programme

The latest update is out from British American Tobacco ( (GB:BATS) ).

British American Tobacco has repurchased 94,469 ordinary shares on 20 February 2026 from Banco Santander as part of its ongoing share buyback programme, paying a volume-weighted average price of 4,551.7968 pence per share. The company plans to cancel these shares, leaving 2,175,109,609 ordinary shares in issue with voting rights and 132,976,327 shares held in treasury, a move that marginally reduces the free float and may support earnings per share and capital return objectives for investors.

The most recent analyst rating on (GB:BATS) stock is a Buy with a £49.00 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 GB:BATS Stock

According to Spark, TipRanks’ AI Analyst, GB: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 GB:BATS stock, click here.

More about British American Tobacco

British American Tobacco p.l.c. is a global tobacco company listed in London, producing and marketing cigarettes and other nicotine products. The group focuses on mature and emerging markets worldwide, where it competes with other multinational tobacco manufacturers for market share and investor capital.

Average Trading Volume: 4,213,568

Technical Sentiment Signal: Buy

Current Market Cap: £94.19B

Find detailed analytics on BATS stock on TipRanks’ Stock Analysis page.