NatWest Group plc (NYSE:NWG) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• NatWest Group plc saw a significant drop in short interest of 37.2% in September, bringing the total to 2,230,000 shares.
• The stock's current price-to-earnings ratio stands at 9.44, with a market capitalization of $58.81 billion.
• Research firms have changed their ratings, with Zacks Research downgrading it to a "hold" and BNP Paribas moving to a "strong sell" rating.

NatWest Group plc (NYSE:NWG - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,230,000 shares, a drop of 37.2% from the September 15th total of 3,550,000 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,360,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days. Based on an average trading volume of 3,360,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NatWest Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NWG. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in NatWest Group by 374.5% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,102 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659 shares in the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in NatWest Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in NatWest Group by 2,941.7% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,765 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in NatWest Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in NatWest Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. 1.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NatWest Group Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE NWG traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $14.63. The stock had a trading volume of 3,094,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,842,343. The company has a market capitalization of $58.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.05. NatWest Group has a 1-year low of $9.16 and a 1-year high of $15.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $14.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.79.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. NatWest Group had a return on equity of 11.99% and a net margin of 16.84%. On average, analysts predict that NatWest Group will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current year.

NatWest Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a yield of 390.0%. NatWest Group's payout ratio is 32.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on NWG. Zacks Research lowered NatWest Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. BNP Paribas lowered NatWest Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered NatWest Group from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of NatWest Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

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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