Proactive Investors - Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LON:LLOY) has been replaced by NatWest Group PLC (LON:NWG) as Barclays (LON:BARC) preferred pick among UK banks.
The broker has upgraded NatWest to overweight from equal weight with a 330p price target, well above today's 206.50p share price.
Barclays said it had upgraded NatWest on signs of slowing deposit migration, and now sees it as best placed to overcome term-funding risks.
It looks for a substantial rebound in net interest margin (NIM) and earnings, ahead of consensus, driven by a best-in-class structural hedge tailwind.
“As well as now being 10% ahead of consensus 2024E PBT, we see NatWest as able to comfortably deliver a double-digit RoTE over the medium term, even in the unlikely event of sharp rate cuts or a significant re-acceleration in deposit migration,” it said.
Barclays remains positive on Lloyds, rated overweight, and has increased its price target to 67p from 65p.
But it prefers the better NIM trajectory at NatWest, underpinned by its "best-in-class structural hedge yield," which is set to comfortably overtake that of Lloyds.
Shares in NatWest jumped 2.8% to 206.5p while Lloyds rose 1.1% to 43.25p.