NWG Stock Recent News

Opponents of public ownership rejoice as NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG) is no longer classed as a public company, following the government's steady selling down of its stake.  With the stake having fallen below 25% in June, and at the start of August standing at just under 19%, the Office for National Statistics has decided the bank will no longer be included in its calculations as one of the state-owned companies.

Texas' comptroller has added NatWest to a list of firms that "boycott" energy companies, potentially restricting the bank's business with state agencies.

NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG) has become the latest lender to cut some mortgage rates to below 4% after the Bank of England reduced base interest earlier this month. This follows similar moves at the likes of Banco Santander (LSE:BNC), Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LSE:LLOY)'s Halifax and HSBC Holdings PLC (LSE:HSBA) as competition heats up between lenders.

NatWest wants to bolster its lending firepower. To do so it plans to cut deals with investors to offload some of its loan risk, to make its capital go further and preserve dividends, executives told Reuters.

Does NatWest Group (NWG) have what it takes to be a top stock pick for momentum investors? Let's find out.

Shares of NatWest have continued their strong run, outperforming the wider European financials space by around 17 points since my last piece back in May. The second quarter's results were impressive. While provisioning drove much of the bottom-line beat, net interest income and pre-provision earnings were also stronger than expected. These shares aren't expensive if you accept management's medium-term financial targets, but with U.K. peer Lloyds at a similar valuation, I prefer it to NatWest at this point.

New chancellor Rachel Reeves said she is abandoning the previous government's plans to sell the remaining taxpayer-owned shares in NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG) via a retail offer. Earlier this month, the state's shareholding in the lender fell below 20% after a series of sales this year and last.

NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG) shares were up 2.5% in afternoon trading as analysts provided their assessment of Friday's better-than-expected second-quarter results. Berenberg raised its share price target to 415p from 350p and restated its 'buy' recommendation, stating the numbers left 'plenty in the tank'.

NatWest Group PLC (NYSE:NWG ) Q2 2024 Results Conference Call July 26, 2024 4:00 AM ET Company Participants Paul Thwaite - Chief Executive Officer Katie Murray - Chief Financial Officer Conference Call Participants Raul Sinha - JPMorgan Alvaro Serrano - Morgan Stanley Andrew Coombs - Citi Jason Napier - UBS Aman Rakkar - Barclays Benjamin Toms - RBC Chris Cant - Autonomous Guy Stebbings - BNP Paribas Edward Firth - KBW Operator Good morning, and welcome to the NatWest Group H1 Results 2024 Management Presentation. Today's presentation will be hosted by CEO, Paul Thwaite; and CFO, Katie Murray.

NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG) had raised its profit forecast for 2024 after hitting its financial targets in the first half of the year. The lender now expects full-year income to come to £14 billion, a notable bump from previous forecasts of between £13 billion and £13.5 billion.