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

NatWest Group plc (NYSE:NWG) was the target of a large decline in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 993,761 shares, a decline of 43.1% from the June 15th total of 1,747,359 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,520,622 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.1 days. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NatWest Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealthstar Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of NatWest Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC now owns 40,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $710,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in NatWest Group by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in NatWest Group by 2.4% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 29,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $414,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NatWest Group by 1.6% during the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 46,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares during the period. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of NatWest Group by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the period. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NatWest Group Price Performance

NatWest Group stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $17.95. 4,035,330 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,596,708. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. NatWest Group has a twelve month low of $13.30 and a twelve month high of $19.35. The company has a market cap of $71.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.52.

NatWest Group (NYSE:NWG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.80 billion. NatWest Group had a net margin of 19.11% and a return on equity of 13.30%. Equities analysts expect that NatWest Group will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NWG. Zacks Research lowered shares of NatWest Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NatWest Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded NatWest Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Berenberg Bank began coverage on NatWest Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised NatWest Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

About NatWest Group

NatWest Group plc is a major UK-based banking and financial services group headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company traces its roots to the Royal Bank of Scotland, founded in 1727, and adopted the NatWest Group name in 2020 as part of a strategic refocus on its NatWest brand. NatWest Group is listed on the London Stock Exchange and also has American depositary shares trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NWG.

The group provides a broad range of banking services across retail, private, commercial, corporate and institutional segments.