Capital Markets

BAT share price hits an all-time high of Sh699

bat

BAT Kenya factory in Nairobi. The firm's share price retreated to Sh682 on Thursday amid mild selling pressure on low volumes. FILE

British American Tobacco’s share price touched an all-time high of Sh699 this week as poor liquidity on the counter persists with shareholders holding on to the well-paying stock.

The new peak took BAT’s price gain year-to-date to 17 per cent.

The share retreated to Sh682 on Thursday amid mild selling pressure on low volumes. Analysts say the BAT share supply remains poor as institutional investors, especially fund managers, are keeping it for the long-term due to its high dividend payout, regularly equalling its entire net earnings.

READ: BAT Kenya commits to 100 per cent dividend payouts

The scarcity also helps the price with just 100 million shares listed.

“The company was spared a tax hit in this year’s budget, while the political tension in its main export market of Egypt has gone down. In terms of performance, investors will be eyeing a higher dividend from the improved profits,” said Old Mutual Securities head of research Eric Munywoki.

BAT is currently trading cum-dividend on a Sh3.50 interim issue announced on July 10 for which books close on August 11.