{"id":109652,"date":"2026-02-16T10:13:55","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T15:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/?p=109652"},"modified":"2026-02-16T10:13:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T15:13:55","slug":"natwest-shares-jump-after-strong-results-and-upbeat-outlook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/natwest-shares-jump-after-strong-results-and-upbeat-outlook\/109652\/","title":{"rendered":"NatWest shares jump after strong results and upbeat outlook"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" data-turn-id=\"request-69931ece-ae58-8320-adb2-3259ef6def75-3\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-10\" data-scroll-anchor=\"true\" data-turn=\"assistant\">\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Shares of NatWest Group moved up 4.6% on Monday after UBS lifted its earnings forecasts for the British bank. The upgrade followed solid fourth quarter results and better than expected capital generation.<\/p>\n

UBS kept its buy rating on the stock. It also maintained a price target of 780p. That suggests a possible total return of around 40% from current levels. The broker raised its diluted earnings per share estimates by 5% for 2026, 4% for 2027 and 3% for 2028.<\/p>\n

The fourth quarter numbers impressed analysts. Pre tax profit, excluding one off items and legal charges, came in 7% higher than market expectations. Net interest income was 3% above forecasts. Operating costs were in line with what analysts had predicted.<\/p>\n

Loan impairments were much better than expected. They came in 30% lower than forecasts at 13 basis points of total loans. This suggests that borrowers are holding up relatively well.<\/p>\n

UBS described the overall momentum at NatWest as strong. Loan growth and deposit growth both improved. Net interest margin also rose by 8 basis points. The market had expected only a 2 basis point increase.<\/p>\n

The bank\u2019s common equity tier 1 ratio stood at 14.0%. That was 30 basis points above consensus estimates. This figure already includes the \u00a3750 million share buyback announced alongside the Evelyn Partners deal.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, NatWest\u2019s 2026 guidance is broadly in line with market expectations. Its new targets for 2028 are slightly more ambitious. UBS believes they imply around 2 to 3% upside compared to current forecasts and appear achievable.<\/p>\n

The bank is aiming for a return on tangible equity above 18%. It also wants customer assets and liabilities to grow by more than 4% on a compound annual basis. Another goal is to keep its cost to income ratio below 45%. Over time, it plans to operate with a CET1 ratio of around 13.0%.<\/p>\n

Overall, the latest results and upgraded forecasts have boosted confidence that NatWest is on a steady path of growth and improving returns.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shares of NatWest Group moved up 4.6% on Monday after UBS lifted its earnings forecasts for the British bank. The\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":109653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[35263],"class_list":["post-109652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-markets","tag-natwest"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109652"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109654,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109652\/revisions\/109654"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}