NatWest Group plc (NYSE:NWG) Short Interest Update

NatWest Group plc (NYSE:NWG) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,600,000 shares, a growth of 225.6% from the February 13th total of 1,720,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,300,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NWG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas downgraded NatWest Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Peel Hunt cut shares of NatWest Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NatWest Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

NatWest Group Stock Performance

NYSE:NWG traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $11.76. The stock had a trading volume of 2,508,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,821,151. NatWest Group has a 52 week low of $6.17 and a 52 week high of $12.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

NatWest Group (NYSE:NWG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $4.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.75 billion. On average, research analysts expect that NatWest Group will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NatWest Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.3899 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from NatWest Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.36. This represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. NatWest Group’s dividend payout ratio is 55.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NatWest Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of NatWest Group by 121.3% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of NatWest Group during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in NatWest Group by 161.4% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NatWest Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

About NatWest Group

NatWest Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides banking and financial products and services to personal, commercial, corporate, and institutional customers in the United Kingdom and internationally. It operates through Retail Banking, Private Banking, and Commercial & Institutional segments.