ING Group (NYSE:ING) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ING Group (NYSE:ING) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

ING has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on ING Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup upgraded shares of ING Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ING Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

ING Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ING opened at $28.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99. ING Group has a 12 month low of $16.47 and a 12 month high of $31.17. The company has a market capitalization of $82.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $28.71 and its 200 day moving average is $26.26.

ING Group (NYSE:ING) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $4.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.67 billion. ING Group had a net margin of 27.50% and a return on equity of 12.26%. Research analysts predict that ING Group will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

ING Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th will be paid a $0.8796 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. This represents a yield of 589.0%. ING Group’s dividend payout ratio is 28.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ING. Amundi purchased a new stake in shares of ING Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $760,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in ING Group by 27.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 87,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,709,000 after buying an additional 18,562 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in ING Group by 5.4% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 21,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 1,094 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in ING Group by 19.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 2,745 shares during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in ING Group by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 3,499 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 4.49% of the company’s stock.

ING Group Company Profile

ING Group N.V. is a Dutch multinational financial services company headquartered in Amsterdam. Formed through the consolidation of Dutch financial businesses, ING operates as a banking and financial services group that serves retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, large corporates and institutional clients. The company is organized under a two-tier governance model common in the Netherlands, with an Executive Board responsible for day-to-day management and a Supervisory Board providing oversight.

ING’s principal activities include retail and direct banking, commercial and wholesale banking, corporate lending, transaction services and cash management, and a range of investment and savings products.