NatWest Group (NYSE:NWG) Hits New 12-Month High After Earnings Beat

NatWest Group plc (NYSE:NWG - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $13.21 and last traded at $13.19, with a volume of 958511 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.00.

The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $5.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion.

NatWest Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.3899 dividend. This represents a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from NatWest Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.36. NatWest Group's payout ratio is currently 51.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on NWG. BNP Paribas cut shares of NatWest Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Peel Hunt cut NatWest Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of NatWest Group in a report on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Institutional Trading of NatWest Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NWG. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in NatWest Group in the fourth quarter valued at $27,339,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of NatWest Group by 11.8% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 12,429,659 shares of the company's stock worth $148,162,000 after purchasing an additional 1,311,476 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of NatWest Group by 45.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,243,078 shares of the company's stock worth $32,982,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014,926 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in NatWest Group by 25.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,712,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,924,000 after purchasing an additional 944,464 shares during the period. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in NatWest Group during the 4th quarter valued at $9,578,000. Institutional investors own 1.27% of the company's stock.

NatWest Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $12.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.02. The stock has a market cap of $53.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.01.

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.