NatWest Group (NYSE:NWG) Downgraded by BNP Paribas to Strong Sell

Key Points

• BNP Paribas has downgraded NatWest Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating, reflecting increased negative sentiment on the bank's stock.
• NatWest Group's shares have decreased by 2.0%, currently trading at $13.78, with a one-year range between $8.55 and $15.52.
• Despite the downgrade, the company reported strong quarterly earnings, with $5.42 billion in revenue and $0.41 EPS, surpassing estimates.

NatWest Group (NYSE:NWG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by BNP Paribas from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on NWG. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of NatWest Group from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of NatWest Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold".

NatWest Group Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE NWG traded up $0.11 on Friday, hitting $14.42. 1,751,640 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,844,602. The company has a market cap of $58.36 billion, a PE ratio of 9.30, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.08. NatWest Group has a 12 month low of $8.68 and a 12 month high of $15.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $14.11 and a 200-day moving average of $13.29. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.04. NatWest Group had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 11.99%. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that NatWest Group will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of NatWest Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NWG. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of NatWest Group by 385.4% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 51,133 shares of the company's stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 40,598 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of NatWest Group by 45.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,243,078 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,982,000 after acquiring an additional 1,014,926 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in shares of NatWest Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $294,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NatWest Group by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 37,427 shares of the company's stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 16,452 shares in the last quarter. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.