NatWest

NWG

Börsenwert 69,3 Mrd. $

Shares in Lloyds and NatWest fell Friday as investors reacted to reports of a possible increase in the U.K. bank-profit surcharge. The bank surcharge is reportedly expected to rise to 8% from 3% in Finance Minister John Healey's budget later this month.

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LSE:LLOY) and NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG) were among the leading FTSE 100 fallers on Friday as investors reacted to expectations that Chancellor John Healey could raise taxes on banks in the 28 October budget. Lloyds fell 1.9% to 103.85p shortly after 8:30, while NatWest dropped 1.8% to 662.2p, with the sector facing the prospect of a higher surcharge on banking profits.

European Banks remain an ‘overweight' sector for JP Morgan, with NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG) and Standard Chartered PLC (LSE:STAN) among its top picks following the sector's recent decline. Its preferred portfolio also includes UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS), Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB) and ING, with Julius Baer newly added.

This article is part of our monthly series where we highlight five large-cap, relatively safe, dividend-paying companies offering significant discounts to their historical norms. We go over our filtering process to select just five conservative DGI stocks from more than 7,500 companies that are traded on U.S. exchanges, including OTC networks. In addition to the primary list that yields 4.6%, we present two other groups of five DGI stocks, each with moderate to high yields of up to 8%.

NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG) is among Citi's top picks, as healthy loan volumes and supportive interest rates underpin European bank earnings despite cooling deposit momentum. Citi maintained its 'overweight' stance on European banks, naming ABN AMRO and SocGen alongside NatWest as its top picks for the sector.

NatWest Group plc (NWG) Presents at Barclays 24th Annual Global Financial Services Conference Transcript

This article is part of our monthly series where we highlight five large-cap, relatively safe, dividend-paying companies offering significant discounts to their historical norms. We go over our filtering process to select just five conservative DGI stocks from more than 7,500 companies that are traded on U.S. exchanges, including OTC networks. In addition to the primary list that yields 4.6%, we present two other groups of five DGI stocks each, from moderate to high yields of up to 8%.

JP Morgan has reiterated its 'overweight' rating on European banks, arguing the sector remains in what it calls a "perfect environment" for growth despite early signs of the interest rate cycle turning. Analyst Kian Abouhossein said the sector benefits from a "sweet spot" of European Central Bank rates between 2% and 3%, alongside lending momentum supported partly by artificial intelligence capital expenditure.

Barclays PLC (LSE:BARC), Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LSE:LLOY), NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG), OSB Group PLC (LSE:OSB), and Paragon Banking Group PLC (LSE:PAG) won unanimous 'buy' ratings from Jefferies on Wednesday as the broker upgraded target prices across the pack. At the heart of the revision, the broker bumped Barclays to 600p from 590p, alongside target hikes for Lloyds to 127p from 125p and NatWest to 770p from 730p.

NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG) was named a top pick by Citi on Wednesday, even as the investment bank cautioned that the current European banking bull run is nearing its final leg. The shares dipped 0.23% to 688.6p as Citi maintained an 'overweight' rating on the wider sector, observing that recent earnings upgrades have now broadened to other market sectors too.