NatWest Group plc (NYSE:NWG) Short Interest Down 39.2% in January

NatWest Group plc (NYSE:NWG) was the target of a large decline in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 897,268 shares, a decline of 39.2% from the January 15th total of 1,474,982 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 3,012,369 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.3 days. Based on an average trading volume of 3,012,369 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.3 days. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NatWest Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWG. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in shares of NatWest Group by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 22,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 6,860 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of NatWest Group by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 42,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $747,000 after purchasing an additional 5,392 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of NatWest Group by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,061,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,044 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in NatWest Group by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 11,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in NatWest Group by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 290,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,088,000 after purchasing an additional 20,031 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

NatWest Group Stock Performance

NWG stock traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $16.07. 7,474,179 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,413,479. NatWest Group has a 1-year low of $10.40 and a 1-year high of $19.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.33 billion, a PE ratio of 9.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.76. 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 announced its earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.09. NatWest Group had a return on equity of 12.77% and a net margin of 18.18%.The company had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.59 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that NatWest Group will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current year.

NatWest Group News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting NatWest Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat — NatWest reported $0.46 EPS vs. $0.37 expected and revenue of $5.74B vs. $5.59B consensus, with robust net margin and ROE that underline the current earnings strength. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Profit and targets raised — Annual profit rose ~24% and management lifted medium‑term performance targets while guiding for further income and profitability growth, supporting higher future cash flow expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns boosted — NatWest announced a fresh £750m share buyback for H1 2026 and signalled increased payouts, which directly supports returns to investors. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Structural hedge and acquisition add durability — Management says the bank’s structural hedge will keep boosting net interest income through 2030, and the £2.7bn Evelyn Partners deal will more than double AUMA and diversify fee income away from NII. These reduce earnings cyclicality. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade — Zacks moved NWG from Hold to Strong Buy, reflecting uplift in the brokerage view after the print and guidance. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor materials available — Management hosted the earnings call and published an analyst slide deck and presentation, useful for digging into guidance and hedge assumptions. Read More. / Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: ESG backlash — NatWest softened its fossil‑fuel lending restrictions alongside results, prompting activist ShareAction to urge investors to oppose the chair’s re‑election; this creates reputational and governance risk that can pressure the share price, especially with sustainable investors. Read More.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of NatWest Group in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of NatWest Group in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of NatWest Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NatWest Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.