How to buy British American Tobacco shares

British American Tobacco PLC (BATS) is a publicly traded tobacco business based in the UK which employs around 46,750 staff. British American Tobacco is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and traded in sterling. Its current price of 2576p is 2.4% up on its price a month ago (2515p).

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Fees calculator for buying British American Tobacco shares with popular apps

Both exchange rates and share prices fluctuate in real time, so the costs estimated here should be considered as a guide only. They don't factor in spreads, which can be hard to pin down. Always refer to the platform itself for availability and pricing.

Quantity of shares

Platform	Finder Score	Account fee	Min. initial deposit	Trade cost	Link
	4.3 ★★★★★	£0	$100	£525.54	Go to siteCapital at risk
	4.3 ★★★★★	0.12% per year	£0	£519.38	Go to siteCapital at risk
	4.4 ★★★★★	£0	£0	£517.78	Go to siteCapital at risk
	4.4 ★★★★★	£0	£0	£517.78	Go to siteCapital at risk
	4.2 ★★★★★	£0	£1	£529.73	Go to siteCapital at risk
	4.4 ★★★★★	0% - 0.25%	£100	£517.78	Go to siteCapital at risk
	4.1 ★★★★★	£0	£0	N/A	Read reviewCapital at risk
	4.7 ★★★★★	£0	£1	£517.78	Read reviewCapital at risk

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Alternative ways to invest in British American Tobacco

• Via a fund
• Via a FTSE 100 ETF

Buying shares in just one company is generally considered a riskier bet than investing in a range of investments - AKA a "diversified portfolio". Experts generally recommend holding a mix of investments in specific assets and funds. Funds are ready-made portfolios of multiple companies' shares (potentially including British American Tobacco), and the idea is that drops in the value of one constituent company's share price might be offset by rises in others.

British American Tobacco is a major part of the London stock exchange, so it's included in many global funds and investment trusts, as well as tracker-style exchange traded funds (ETFs).

Fund	Icon	5-year performance (to May 2024)	1-year performance (to May 2024)	Link to invest
Xtrackers FTSE 100 (XDUK)		36.5540%	12.89%	Invest with HLCapital at risk
HSBC FTSE 100 (HUKX)		36.43%	12.51%	Invest with XTBCapital at risk
iShares Core FTSE 100 (CUKX)		36.30%	12.61%	Invest with eToroCapital at risk
Vanguard FTSE 100 (VUKE)		36.28%	12.50%	Invest with XTBCapital at risk
iShares Core FTSE 100 (Dist)(ISF)		36.27%	12.47%	Invest with XTBCapital at risk
Invesco FTSE 100 (S100)		35.31%	12.39%	Invest with HLCapital at risk
Amundi FTSE 100 (100D)		35.30%	12.39%	Invest with HLCapital at risk

Is it a good time to buy British American Tobacco stock?

Review technicals and fundamentals to help you determine if now's a good time for you to invest.

Technical analysis

View British American Tobacco's price performance, share price volatility, historical data and technicals.

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Invest in British American Tobacco shares

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Is British American Tobacco under- or over-valued?

Valuing a stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge value. Check out the British American Tobacco P/E ratio, PEG ratio and EBITDA.

• British American Tobacco PEG ratio
• British American Tobacco EBITDA

Frequently asked questions

• Does British American Tobacco pay dividends?

  • Dividend yield
  • Forward yield
  • Payout ratio

  Dividend yield: 9.18% of stock value

  Forward annual dividend yield: 9.18% of stock value

  Dividend payout ratio: 62.02% of net profits

  British American Tobacco has recently paid out dividends equivalent to 9.18% of its share value annually.

  British American Tobacco has paid out, on average, around 62.02% of recent net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 9.18% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), shareholders could enjoy a 9.18% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In British American Tobacco's case, that would currently equate to about 230.9 per share.

  British American Tobacco's payout ratio would broadly be considered high, and as such this stock could appeal to those looking to generate an income. Bear in mind however that companies should normally also look to re-invest a decent amount of net profits to ensure future growth.

  The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 25 September 2024 (the "ex-dividend date").

  British American Tobacco's dividend yield is perhaps best considered in relation to those of similar companies.

  • Altria Group (MO.US): 7.93% (7.93% forward annual dividend yield)
  • Imperial Brands (IMB.LSE): 7.10% (7.1% forward annual dividend yield)
  • Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT.LSE): 4.38% (4.38% forward annual dividend yield)
  • Diageo (DGE.LSE): 3.26% (3.26% forward annual dividend yield)
  • Tesco (TSCO.LSE): 3.71% (3.71% forward annual dividend yield)

• What percentage of British American Tobacco is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 10.505% of British American Tobacco shares are held by insiders and 41.279% by institutions.

• When does the fiscal year end for British American Tobacco?

  British American Tobacco's fiscal year ends in December.

• Where is British American Tobacco based?

  British American Tobacco's address is: Globe House, London, United Kingdom, WC2R 2PG

• Have British American Tobacco's shares ever split?

  British American Tobacco's shares were split on a 1:2 basis on 7 September 1998. So if you had owned 2 shares the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 1 share. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your British American Tobacco shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 100% higher share price could have impacted the market appetite for British American Tobacco shares which in turn could have impacted British American Tobacco's share price.

• How to sell British American Tobacco shares

  It's as easy to sell British American Tobacco as it is to buy! Here's how to sell British American Tobacco shares that you already own.

  1. Open your investment app. If you've got one with desktop access, you can log in online
  2. Go to your portfolio. This should be in the main menu
  3. Find your shares. You may be able to search your portfolio
  4. Choose how many you'd like to sell. You'll be able to review the price and see how much you'll receive
  5. Sell your British American Tobacco shares. Your investment platform will let you know when your shares are sold

• Can you buy British American Tobacco shares with a debit card?

  Most dealing providers will let you use your debit card to top up your account and buy shares. The main ways are with a debit card, bank transfer or with Apple/Google Pay.

• What's the easiest way to buy British American Tobacco shares?

  The easiest way to get hold of some British American Tobacco shares is to sign up for a share trading app and place a market order or basic order. This type of order tells the platform that you're interested, so it'll try to execute it as quickly as it can. It could take some time for the order to go through, especially if there's a lot of volatility in British American Tobacco shares.

• Do you need to complete a W8-BEN form if you want to invest in British American Tobacco

  If you're investing in a US stock, you'll need to complete a W8-BEN form to minimise your tax liability. Whether these are automatically handled for you depends on your broker, so it would be a good idea to check with them directly.

• What is the key financial information for British American Tobacco?

  British American Tobacco financials

  Revenue TTM	£27.3 billion
  Operating margin TTM	48.44%
  Gross profit TTM	£22.9 billion
  Return on assets TTM	5.8%
  Return on equity TTM	-22.06%
  Profit margin	-52.66%
  Book value	22.81p
  Market capitalisation more info button	£56.8 billion

  TTM: trailing 12 months