British American Tobacco updates share capital after Sharesave issuance

British American Tobacco ( (GB:BATS) ) just unveiled an announcement.

British American Tobacco has issued and allotted 3,599 new ordinary shares of 25 pence each under its employee Sharesave Scheme between 19 January and 16 March 2026, with the new stock admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange under an existing block listing. The newly issued shares are fully fungible with existing stock, and following this transaction the company’s issued share capital now stands at 2,173,748,098 voting shares, with a further 132,976,327 shares held in treasury, while 71,115 ordinary shares remain available under the existing block admission.

The move represents a routine capital management step linked to employee participation rather than a strategic fundraising, but it incrementally increases the free float and confirms the continued use of share-based incentives across the group. For existing investors, the impact is limited to a marginal dilution offset by the company’s treasury share position and the transparent disclosure of its updated share capital structure.

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 p.l.c. is a major global tobacco company whose core business is the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other nicotine products, with its shares traded on the London Stock Exchange. The group focuses on a broad international market for tobacco and related products, supported by long-established employee share schemes and capital market programmes.

Average Trading Volume: 4,570,564

Technical Sentiment Signal: Buy

Current Market Cap: £99.1B

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