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

NatWest Group plc (NYSE:NWG - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,720,000 shares, a growth of 26.5% from the January 31st total of 1,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,690,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.6 days. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

NatWest Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NWG traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $12.16. The stock had a trading volume of 8,943,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,768,226. The company's 50-day moving average price is $10.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.07. The company has a market capitalization of $48.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. NatWest Group has a fifty-two week low of $6.17 and a fifty-two week high of $12.65.

NatWest Group (NYSE:NWG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $4.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NatWest Group will post 1.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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NatWest Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BNP Paribas cut shares of NatWest Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy".

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NatWest Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NWG. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of NatWest Group by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 52,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 6,199 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of NatWest Group by 352.4% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 567,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,311,000 after purchasing an additional 442,002 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NatWest Group by 78.8% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 329,582 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,085,000 after purchasing an additional 145,295 shares during the last quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in NatWest Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $96,000. Finally, Seascape Capital Management increased its position in NatWest Group by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Seascape Capital Management now owns 308,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,889,000 after acquiring an additional 8,767 shares during the period. 1.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.