NatWest Group plc (NYSE:NWG) Short Interest Up 37.8% in December

NatWest Group plc (NYSE:NWG) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,493,520 shares, a growth of 37.8% from the December 15th total of 1,083,994 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,566,283 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,566,283 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NatWest Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWG. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of NatWest Group by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 39,234,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $555,166,000 after acquiring an additional 1,702,930 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in NatWest Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,531,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,764,000 after purchasing an additional 156,832 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in NatWest Group by 7.1% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 12,905,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $182,611,000 after purchasing an additional 851,997 shares in the last quarter. L1 Capital Pty Ltd bought a new stake in NatWest Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $146,913,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in NatWest Group by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,474,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,181,000 after buying an additional 455,538 shares in the last quarter. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of NatWest Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of NatWest Group in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NatWest Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered NatWest Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

NatWest Group Price Performance

Shares of NWG stock traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $17.52. The stock had a trading volume of 2,663,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,857,474. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.13 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.99. NatWest Group has a 12 month low of $10.17 and a 12 month high of $18.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

NatWest Group (NYSE:NWG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.03. NatWest Group had a net margin of 18.18% and a return on equity of 12.77%. The business had revenue of $5.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.63 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that NatWest Group will post 1.35 EPS for the current year.

About NatWest Group

NatWest Group plc is a major UK-based banking and financial services group headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company traces its roots to the Royal Bank of Scotland, founded in 1727, and adopted the NatWest Group name in 2020 as part of a strategic refocus on its NatWest brand. NatWest Group is listed on the London Stock Exchange and also has American depositary shares trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NWG.

The group provides a broad range of banking services across retail, private, commercial, corporate and institutional segments.