NatWest Group plc (NYSE:NWG) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

NatWest Group plc (NYSE:NWG) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,040,000 shares, a decline of 27.9% from the February 28th total of 5,600,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,920,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

NatWest Group Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE NWG traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $11.99. The stock had a trading volume of 3,168,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,023,945. NatWest Group has a twelve month low of $6.75 and a twelve month high of $12.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $11.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.43. The firm has a market cap of $48.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.22.

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

NatWest Group Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of NatWest Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NWG. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of NatWest Group by 22.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 245,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,299,000 after purchasing an additional 44,422 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in NatWest Group by 72.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 84,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $790,000 after purchasing an additional 35,499 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in NatWest Group by 121.3% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,499 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of NatWest Group by 57.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,988,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,611,000 after buying an additional 721,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of NatWest Group during the third quarter valued at about $572,000. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of NatWest Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Peel Hunt lowered NatWest Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

NatWest Group Company Profile

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.