British American Tobacco Stock Today: BATS/BTI Edge Higher as Analyst Upgrades, Buybacks and Big Dividends Draw Fresh Attention

London, 28 November 2025 – British American Tobacco p.l.c. (LSE: BATS, NYSE: BTI) spent Friday trading near fresh 52‑week highs, as a wave of analyst upgrades, continued share buybacks and a hefty dividend yield kept the tobacco giant firmly in the sights of income and value investors alike.

Below is a round‑up of today’s key news and data points on the stock.

British American Tobacco share price today: holding near year highs

In London, British American Tobacco’s ordinary shares changed hands around 4,370p on Friday, with bid–offer quotes at roughly 4,368p–4,370p. That’s about 0.7% higher than Thursday’s close near 4,340p, according to data from Hargreaves Lansdown and shareprices.com. ^[1]

Intraday, BATS has traded in a range of roughly 4,342p to 4,393p, not far below a new 52‑week high around 4,400p, and well above a 12‑month low near 2,820p recorded earlier in the year. ^[2]

Key snapshot metrics today:

Market capitalisation: about £95 billion. ^[3]
Trailing P/E ratio: roughly 12x earnings. ^[4]
Year‑to‑date performance: MarketScreener’s real‑time feed shows BATS up just over 50% in 2025, with a one‑year move of more than 50% also highlighted by independent valuation site Simply Wall St. ^[5]

On Wall Street, the U.S. ADR BTI opened around $57.80, up roughly 2% on the day, trading in a 52‑week band of $34.82–$59.29. ^[6]

Fresh analyst calls: Deutsche Bank and Citi push targets higher

Analyst news is one of the main drivers around the stock today.

Deutsche Bank: Buy rating, target raised to 4,900p

Early this morning, Deutsche Bank reiterated its Buy rating on British American Tobacco and lifted its price target from 4,400p to 4,900p, according to a note summarised by MarketScreener. ^[7]

At today’s London price near 4,37x, that revised target implies modest double‑digit upside before dividends.

Citi: price target boosted to £48.50

Separately, Citi has raised its target price for British American Tobacco to £48.50 per share, covering both the London listing (BATS:LN) and the NYSE‑traded ADR (BTI). The move, published in the early hours of 28 November, keeps the stock firmly on Citi’s radar, although the full rationale is behind a paywall. ^[8]

JPMorgan and the broader sell‑side picture

Earlier in the week, JPMorgan Chase & Co. nudged its target higher as well, lifting its price objective on BATS from 3,300p to 4,150p while maintaining a “Neutral” stance, according to a MarketBeat summary of the broker’s London‑listed coverage. ^[9]

On the over‑the‑counter line (BTAFF), JP Morgan Cazenove also reiterated a Neutral recommendation, as reported in a Fintel/Nasdaq note dated 27 November. ^[10]

Taken together with other recent actions – including Royal Bank of Canada’s downgrade to “Underperform” in September and an earlier Argus upgrade to “Buy” with a $62 BTI target – the analyst backdrop remains mixed. ^[11]

MarketScreener’s consensus data today show:

Mean analyst stance:“Outperform” on the London line.
Average 12‑month target: about £43.6 per share, a touch above the most recent close. ^[12]

That implies that some of today’s upgrades – particularly Deutsche Bank’s 4,900p call and Citi’s £48.50 – sit above the current consensus.

Buybacks in focus: new “Transaction in Own Shares” filing

Alongside analyst commentary, BAT’s share buyback programme continues to run in the background and remains a central part of the equity story.

In a regulatory announcement published this morning, British American Tobacco disclosed that on 27 November 2025 it repurchased 110,000 ordinary shares on the London Stock Exchange as part of its ongoing buyback. The highest price paid was 4,365p, the lowest 4,289p, and the volume‑weighted average price (VWAP) came in at 4,319.21p. The company intends to cancel these shares. ^[13]

Post‑cancellation:

Shares in issue with voting rights: about 2.18 billion.
Treasury shares: just under 133 million. ^[14]

These daily repurchase notices follow a long run of similar RNS filings through November, underscoring BAT’s commitment to buying back stock while it trades below management’s view of fair value. ^[15]

How the ITC stake sale helps fund capital returns

This year’s buyback programme is closely linked to British American Tobacco’s decision to reduce its long‑standing stake in Indian conglomerate ITC Ltd.

In late May, BAT sold around 313 million ITC shares, representing roughly 2.5% of the Indian group, in a block trade at ₹413 per share, raising about $1.5 billion. Reuters reporting on the deal noted that BAT remains ITC’s largest shareholder but used part of the proceeds to increase its 2025 share buyback programme by £200 million, taking the planned total to approximately £1.1 billion. ^[16]

That capital recycling – out of a minority stake in ITC and into direct repurchases of BAT’s own shares – is one reason buybacks have become such a prominent theme in this year’s BAT equity narrative.

Institutional interest and BTI performance in New York

On the U.S. side, a fresh filing from Global Retirement Partners LLC shows the firm established a new position of 38,395 BTI shares in Q2, worth roughly $1.82 million at the time of purchase. ^[17]

MarketBeat’s overview of BTI today highlights:

Opening price: about $57.80, up around 2% on the session.
52‑week range: approximately $34.82–$59.29.
Debt‑to‑equity ratio: around 0.68, with a current ratio under 1x, reflecting a leveraged but typical big‑tobacco balance sheet.
Institutional ownership: roughly 16% of the free float. ^[18]

On the analyst side, that same report summarises a mixed U.S. rating picture: several brokers on Buy, some on Sell or Underweight, and an average BTI target around $51, below the current share price, indicating that not all houses see upside from here despite the solid dividend. ^[19]

Valuation debate: strong 56.5% rally, but still undervalued?

With the stock up more than 50% over the past 12 months, valuation is very much front‑and‑centre in today’s commentary. ^[20]

A detailed piece from Simply Wall St published this morning argues that, despite a 56.5% total return over the last year, British American Tobacco may still be undervalued on a discounted‑cash‑flow basis:

Using reported free cash flow of about £8.7 billion and forecasts out to 2029, the site’s two‑stage DCF model estimates an intrinsic value of £60.99 per share.
That figure sits roughly 28.8% above the recent market price, leading their framework to flag BAT as “Undervalued” on a cash‑flow basis. ^[21]

However, the same analysis notes that:

BAT’s current price‑to‑earnings multiple (they cite about 31x, based on their methodology) sits well above the tobacco industry average, but very close to their modelled “fair” multiple.
On that PE‑based view, they conclude the shares look “about right” relative to earnings. ^[22]

In short: valuation signals are not unanimous. Cash‑flow models and yield comparisons still point to upside, while some traditional multiples suggest that a lot of optimism is already priced in after the rally.

Dividend: 240.24p per year and an upcoming ex‑dividend date

Dividend income remains a key element of the British American Tobacco investment case, and today’s newsflow keeps that story alive.

According to company disclosures and independent dividend trackers:

For the year to 31 December 2025, BAT is paying four equal quarterly dividends of 60.06p per share, totalling 240.24p.
The next quarterly instalment – the Q4 2025 dividend – is scheduled to go ex‑dividend on 29 December 2025, with payment in early February 2026 (variously reported as 4 or 9 February, depending on the source).

Using a share price around 4,34–4,37 GBP, that full‑year dividend implies a forward yield in the region of 5.4–5.6%. ^[23]

For BTI holders in New York, the ADR’s dividend timetable follows the same underlying cash flows but with U.S. ex‑dividend dates and dollar‑denominated amounts; Investing.com currently puts the ADR yield just north of 5%.

Sector, strategy and governance: today’s narrative around BAT

Two long‑form features from Kalkine Media, both published in the early hours of 28 November, frame British American Tobacco’s current role in the FTSE 100 and the global tobacco sector:

One article focuses on sector movements “centred” on BAT, emphasising its weight in major UK indices and its reputation as a core FTSE dividend stock in a heavily regulated industry. ^[24]
A companion piece describes how FTSE 100 activity “strengthens” around BAT following recent strategic commentary, highlighting the group’s multinational footprint, focus on newer nicotine formats and the complexity of the regulatory environment it operates in. ^[25]

Beyond share‑price chatter, a few structural developments frame the medium‑term story:

Stake in ITC: BAT remains the largest shareholder in India’s ITC even after this year’s $1.5 billion selldown, retaining a stake above 22%. The transaction was pitched as a way to boost financial flexibility and fund buybacks rather than a strategic exit. ^[26]
Operations & digital transformation: In July, BAT announced a global strategic partnership with Accenture to modernise its operations and supply network, signalling ongoing investment in efficiency and data‑driven decision‑making. ^[27]
Board refresh: A board change announcement in October confirmed that Matthew Wright would join the BAT board as an independent non‑executive director from 1 November 2025, with roles on the Remuneration and Nominations Committees – part of a steady refresh of the company’s governance structure. ^[28]

Regulatory risk remains substantial. Market and newswire reports through October described how a BAT subsidiary postponed or halted the planned launch of a Vuse‑branded vape product in the United States amid a tougher U.S. FDA stance on disposable e‑cigarettes and flavour enforcement, illustrating the policy overhang facing the whole sector. ^[29]

Key dates and what investors are watching next

From today’s vantage point, several upcoming milestones matter for anyone tracking BATS or BTI:

Pre‑close trading update: BAT’s own financial calendar flags a Full‑Year 2025 pre‑close trading update on 9 December 2025, which should give fresh colour on volumes, pricing, and the performance of “New Category” products such as vapour, heated tobacco and modern oral nicotine. ^[30]
Q4 dividend ex‑date: As noted above, the next London ex‑dividend date is expected on 29 December 2025, with cash payment in early February 2026.
Full‑year results: External calendars suggest full‑year 2025 earnings around mid‑February 2026 (one widely cited date is 11 February), which will formally wrap up a year of strong share price recovery and heavier capital returns. ^[31]

Between now and those events, day‑to‑day sentiment is likely to be driven by:

further signals on buyback pace,
any change in tone from regulators on vaping and nicotine alternatives,
and whether the recent run in “defensive” dividend payers like BAT can continue in a world of shifting interest‑rate expectations.

Bottom line: a high‑yield giant priced for both risk and resilience

As of 28 November 2025, British American Tobacco sits at an interesting crossroads:

The share price is near record highs, yet several valuation models and some brokers still see room for upside. ^[32]
The dividend stream remains large and well‑flagged, with around 240p per share scheduled for the current year and a forward yield comfortably above 5%. ^[33]
Capital returns are reinforced by ongoing share buybacks, helped along by the partial monetisation of the ITC stake. ^[34]
At the same time, regulatory, ESG and long‑term demand risks continue to cast a long shadow over the whole tobacco space.

For now, today’s news flow paints a picture of a blue‑chip income stock that has staged a powerful recovery, is attracting renewed analyst interest, and remains heavily reliant on how policymakers treat both cigarettes and newer nicotine products over the coming decade.

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