ABC Arbitrage SA Lowers Holdings in NatWest Group plc (NYSE:NWG)

Key Points

• ABC Arbitrage SA reduced its stake in NatWest Group by 38%, selling over 357,000 shares and leaving it with approximately 584,000 shares valued at about $6.96 million.
• NatWest Group's stock has a current market cap of $57.06 billion, with a one-year price range of $8.08 to $14.55 and a reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.41.
• Citigroup has maintained a "buy" rating on NatWest Group shares, contributing to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts.

ABC Arbitrage SA lowered its position in NatWest Group plc (NYSE:NWG - Free Report) by 38.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 584,015 shares of the company's stock after selling 357,751 shares during the quarter. NatWest Group makes up about 1.3% of ABC Arbitrage SA's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. ABC Arbitrage SA's holdings in NatWest Group were worth $6,961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in NatWest Group by 1,506.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 750,227 shares of the company's stock worth $7,630,000 after acquiring an additional 703,534 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in NatWest Group by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 26,063 shares of the company's stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in NatWest Group by 510.9% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 247,808 shares of the company's stock worth $2,520,000 after purchasing an additional 207,242 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in NatWest Group by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 944,614 shares of the company's stock worth $9,607,000 after purchasing an additional 49,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pitcairn Co. raised its holdings in NatWest Group by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 17,223 shares of the company's stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.27% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of NatWest Group in a report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

NatWest Group Stock Performance

Shares of NatWest Group stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $14.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,047,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,664,247. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $13.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.71. The firm has a market cap of $57.34 billion, a PE ratio of 9.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.07. NatWest Group plc has a fifty-two week low of $8.55 and a fifty-two week high of $14.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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

NatWest Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.255 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 390.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. NatWest Group's payout ratio is presently 49.68%.

NatWest Group 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.