Like so many of its FTSE 100 peers, 2018 was a bit of a headache for RBS. Opening at £2.78, it had actually spiked above £3 by the end of January. It wasn’t to strike that level again, however, eventually closing out last year at £2.16, in large part thanks to a politically tense November.
In contrast, 2019 so far has been a joy, the stock climbing back to a near 3-month peak of £2.50 in early February. Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (LON:RBS) now sits at a current trading price of £2.37.
The bank’s third quarter results last October weren’t half bad. Operating pre-tax profit was up 10% to £916 million, ahead of the £892 million forecast, while revenues rose 8%, again beating estimates at £3.4 billion. Yet the main takeaway was news it had set aside £100 million due to the ‘uncertain economic outlook’ in the run-up to Brexit, the money intended to cover possible bad loans post-EU exit.
Considering that this is the company’s final scheduled event before the March 29th withdrawal date, investors will be after a fuller idea of the bank’s contingency plans on Friday, including any further impairment charges. On top of that, RBS is expected to post full year earnings per share of 28.5p, alongside revenue of £13.27 billion.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC(LON:RBS) has a consensus rating of ‘Buy’ alongside an average target price of £3.04.
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