NatWest Group plc $NWG Position Increased by Millennium Management LLC

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC significantly increased its stake in NatWest Group by 364.3%, now holding approximately 2.94 million shares valued at $35 million.
• Recent analyst ratings have generally turned negative, with BNP Paribas downgrading the stock to a "strong sell" and Zacks lowering it from "strong-buy" to "hold".
• NatWest Group's latest quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.41, exceeding expectations, and the company has announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.255 per share.

Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of NatWest Group plc (NYSE:NWG - Free Report) by 364.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,938,011 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,305,175 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.07% of NatWest Group worth $35,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in NatWest Group by 374.5% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,102 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,659 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in NatWest Group during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NatWest Group in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NatWest Group in the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NatWest Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. 1.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas lowered shares of NatWest Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of NatWest Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of NatWest Group from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NatWest Group currently has an average rating of "Hold".

NatWest Group Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:NWG opened at $14.33 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $14.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.29. NatWest Group plc has a 52 week low of $8.61 and a 52 week high of $15.52. The company has a market capitalization of $58.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.05.

NatWest Group (NYSE:NWG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.04. NatWest Group had a return on equity of 11.99% and a net margin of 16.84%.The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that NatWest Group plc will post 1.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NatWest Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a yield of 390.0%. NatWest Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.26%.

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.

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