Jefferies Reaffirms Buy Rating on British American Tobacco with GBX 5,500 Price Target

Jefferies Maintains Buy on British American Tobacco

In a research note published on Sept. 18, 2026, Jefferies analyst Andrei Andon-Ionita maintained his Buy recommendation on British American Tobacco p.l.c., the London-listed tobacco group identified by ticker BATS and ISIN GB0002875804. The note reaffirmed an unchanged price target of GBX 5,500 per share. The reiteration was carried by the dpa-AFX Analyser feed and distributed through MarketScreener, and it represented the latest in a string of analyst notes focused on the stock during the week.

Price Target and Recent Broker Views

The GBX 5,500 target held by Jefferies places the bank firmly in the bullish camp on British American Tobacco, contrasting with more cautious stances from other houses. On Sept. 11, 2026, RBC reiterated its Underperform-equivalent Sell rating on the stock while tweaking its forecasts, and earlier in the year Morningstar upgraded the shares to Buy. Most recently, on Sept. 18, Deutsche Bank also reiterated its own Buy rating on British American Tobacco, underscoring that positive sell-side coverage clustered around the same trading session. Together the notes illustrate a split but predominantly constructive broker backdrop heading into the autumn.

Trading Context for BATS Shares

Real-time pricing displayed alongside the note showed British American Tobacco trading at 4,185.50 GBX on Cboe Europe at 13:31 BST on Sept. 18, 2026, up 0.04% on the day, with a five-day change of +2.05% and a year-to-date move of -0.71%. The ex-dividend date for the stock was listed as Oct. 1, with a dividend of 0.6126 GBX per share noted on the calendar. British American Tobacco employs 47,797 people worldwide and reported 2024 net sales distributed across the United States (45%), Americas and Europe (36.4%), and Asia/Pacific/Middle East/Africa (18.6%), with a brand portfolio that includes Lucky Strike, Dunhill, Kent, Pall Mall, Kool and Rothmans.

Broader Backdrop for the Stock

The Jefferies note landed against an eventful stretch for British American Tobacco. On Sept. 7, 2026, the company confirmed that its factory in Ukraine's Chernihiv region had been hit in a Russian attack, a development the company disclosed publicly. Earlier in September, British American Tobacco announced the appointment of Dragos Ionut Constantinescu as a director effective Sept. 1, 2026. Separately, U.S. peer Altria filed suit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Sept. 2, 2026, seeking to force the agency to scrap its current system for reviewing tobacco products, an action tracked by investors across the sector.

What to Watch Next

Investors will look to the Oct. 1, 2026 ex-dividend date for British American Tobacco as the next concrete corporate calendar item. Any follow-up broker actions, particularly further commentary from RBC and Deutsche Bank, could also move the shares given the divergent ratings currently on the stock. Updates on the damaged Chernihiv facility and the wider litigation involving Altria and the FDA remain relevant cross-currents for sentiment on the tobacco sector.