NatWest Group plc (NYSE:NWG) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

NatWest Group plc (NYSE:NWG) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,210,000 shares, a growth of 29.0% from the March 15th total of 4,040,000 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 5,500,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.9 days.

NatWest Group Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NWG stock opened at $12.31 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $11.74 and its 200 day moving average is $10.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.93. 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 has a 12-month low of $6.99 and a 12-month high of $12.65.

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

NatWest Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This is a positive change from NatWest Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. NatWest Group’s dividend payout ratio is 55.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NatWest Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWG. OneAscent Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of NatWest Group by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 12,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 926 shares in the last quarter. Adero Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of NatWest Group by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 12,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC raised its stake in NatWest Group by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 48,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093 shares in the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. increased its stake in NatWest Group by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 17,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,000 after acquiring an additional 1,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC raised its position in NatWest Group by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 11,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228 shares during the period. 1.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.