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

NatWest Group plc (NYSE:NWG) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of 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 trading volume of 4,300,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

NatWest Group Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:NWG opened at $11.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $11.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.15. The company has a market capitalization of $47.46 billion, a PE ratio of 8.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.22. NatWest Group has a 1-year low of $6.17 and a 1-year 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $4.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that NatWest Group will post 1.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NatWest Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on NWG shares. BNP Paribas lowered shares of NatWest Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Peel Hunt downgraded shares of 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NWG. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of NatWest Group by 94.2% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 40,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $414,000 after acquiring an additional 19,742 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its stake in NatWest Group by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 31,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 3,136 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NatWest Group during the 4th quarter valued at $130,000. Strategic Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NatWest Group by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC now owns 76,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,000 after buying an additional 5,286 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of NatWest Group by 81.1% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 191,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,947,000 after buying an additional 85,700 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

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.