NatWest Group (NYSE:NWG) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

NatWest Group plc (NYSE:NWG) shares saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 4,814,722 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 77% from the previous session’s volume of 2,721,819 shares.The stock last traded at $12.21 and had previously closed at $12.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, BNP Paribas downgraded NatWest Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NatWest Group presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

NatWest Group Trading Down 3.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $48.67 billion, a PE ratio of 8.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

NatWest Group (NYSE:NWG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $4.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.75 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NatWest Group plc will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NatWest Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.3899 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from NatWest Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.36. NatWest Group’s payout ratio is currently 55.88%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NatWest Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NWG. OneAscent Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of NatWest Group by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 12,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 926 shares in the last quarter. Adero Partners LLC raised its position in NatWest Group by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 11,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 1,014 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in NatWest Group by 3.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 35,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in NatWest Group by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 48,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pitcairn Co. grew its position in shares of NatWest Group by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 17,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

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.