NatWest Group plc (NYSE:NWG) Short Interest Up 225.6% in February

NatWest Group plc (NYSE:NWG) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,600,000 shares, an increase 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 shares are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NatWest Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Trust Co. NA lifted 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,499 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in NatWest Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in NatWest Group during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NatWest Group by 161.4% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of NatWest Group in the third quarter worth $33,000. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NatWest Group Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:NWG traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $11.79. The stock had a trading volume of 18,224,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,895,398. 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 12 month low of $6.17 and a 12 month high of $12.65. The company has a market capitalization of $47.46 billion, a PE ratio of 8.67, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $10.98 and its 200 day moving average is $10.13.

NatWest Group (NYSE:NWG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $4.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. Analysts anticipate that NatWest Group will post 1.35 EPS 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. Investors 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 represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is an increase from NatWest Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.36. NatWest Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on NWG. BNP Paribas cut NatWest Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Peel Hunt lowered NatWest Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.