Natwest: FTSE 100 bank’s share price scoops ten-year high
Shares in Natwest were touching a ten year high on Tuesday morning, ahead of the bank posting its annual results on Friday.
At market open, share price was at 442.70p edging towards the high of 445.85p achieved in February 2015.
The lender hit its highest share price since 2015 last month, and continued to rally ahead of its results.
The bank is up over 100 per cent on year to date, making it the third highest performer in the FTSE100.
Analysts have forecasted the Big Four bank a pre-tax profit of £6.1bn, marginally down from £6.2bn last year.
However, analysts still expect a “solid” performance, despite the three interest rate cuts made by the Bank of England in the last six months.
Over the ten days, all Big Four banks, Natwest, Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds, will all report annual results.
Barclays will post first on February 13, followed by Natwest the next day. Lloyds will publish annual results the next week on February 20, with HSBC posting February 21.
‘Earned their way back into analysts favour’
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, told City AM: “The FTSE 350 banks sector trades at its highest mark since 2008, when the Great Financial Crisis was at its height.
“Perhaps, just perhaps, the terrible memories of that are finally fading, as the banks – including Natwest – show strong balance sheets, generate record aggregate profits and return plenty of cash to shareholders as they manage risk and keep themselves out of regulatory trouble.”
Mould said Natwest could also be benefitting from how the stock overhang from the Government stake continues to drip even lower.
“Maybe the lenders have finally earned, and paid, their way back into investors’ favour,” he added.
‘Domestic UK banks stand out against European peers’
Will Howlett, financials analyst at Quilter Cheviot, told City AM: “Despite a seemingly stagnant UK economy, NatWest’s shares have continued to show strength.
“European banks’ earnings have generally been well received which has helped sentiment in the sector.
“The domestic UK banks also stand out against European peers given the structural hedges in place to support their outlook for net interest income as policy rates come down.”
He added there is “hopes” that rate cuts can help “stimulate the economy and lead to an eventual pick up in loan growth”.
“While we do not expect a buyback to be announced in NatWest’s results on Friday, we believe the focus will be on a directed buyback at the end of May,” Howlett said.
“This would bring the full exit of the government’s ownership, with its stake currently at around 8%, into sight which we see as a landmark moment.”
In its third quarter update in October, the bank posted a 26 per cent growth in profit, driven from lending.
Its pre-tax profit stood at £1.7bn, marking nearly a third increase from the £1.3bn generated the same time last year.
Following its last results, Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown stated: “Better incomes and costs drove the beat today, offset by higher impairments than expected, which does buck the trend we saw from Lloyds and Barclays.”
Natwest’s lending over the last year had been boosted from its £2.3bn acquisition of Metro Bank’s mortgage portfolio.