NFJ Investment Group LLC Takes Position in NatWest Group plc $NWG

Key Points

• NFJ Investment Group LLC acquired 21,306 shares of NatWest Group plc, valued at approximately $254,000, marking its entry into the investment during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd, boosted their positions significantly in NatWest Group, reflecting increased interest in the company.
• Analysts have downgraded NatWest Group's stock, with BNP Paribas reducing its rating from "hold" to "strong sell," indicating growing concerns about the company's future performance.

NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NatWest Group plc (NYSE:NWG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 21,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of NatWest Group by 1,102.0% in the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 600,743 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,161,000 after acquiring an additional 550,764 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of NatWest Group by 153.7% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 70,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $715,000 after acquiring an additional 42,567 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NatWest Group in the 1st quarter worth about $293,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in NatWest Group in the 1st quarter worth about $1,053,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in NatWest Group by 28.7% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,744,550 shares of the company's stock worth $32,715,000 after buying an additional 611,323 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NWG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of NatWest Group from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of NatWest Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of NatWest Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

NatWest Group Stock Up 0.2%

NatWest Group stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $14.46. 1,776,779 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,832,609. 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 plc has a 12 month low of $8.69 and a 12 month high of $15.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $14.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.31. The company has a market cap of $58.52 billion, a PE ratio of 9.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.08.

NatWest Group (NYSE:NWG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.04. NatWest Group had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 11.99%. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.06 billion. As a group, analysts expect that NatWest Group plc will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NatWest Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid 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 (DPR) is 32.26%.

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.