Hancock Whitney Corp Grows Stake in ING Group, N.V. $ING

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney Corp increased its stake in ING Group by 35.9% in the first quarter, holding 47,480 shares valued at approximately $930,000.
• ING Group reported $0.64 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.59, with revenue of $6.55 billion.
• Various research analysts upgraded ING Group's stock rating, with Barclays and Morgan Stanley moving it from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating.

Hancock Whitney Corp increased its stake in shares of ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING - Free Report) by 35.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,480 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,554 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in ING Group were worth $930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ING. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of ING Group by 333.0% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 193,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,025,000 after acquiring an additional 148,476 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in ING Group by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 44,955 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 9,630 shares during the period. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new stake in ING Group in the fourth quarter worth about $197,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of ING Group by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 132,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,079,000 after buying an additional 10,471 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of ING Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,808,000. 4.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ING Group Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE ING traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $25.00. 1,026,719 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,779,123. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.71 and a 200 day moving average of $21.26. ING Group, N.V. has a 1 year low of $15.09 and a 1 year high of $25.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The stock has a market cap of $78.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10.

ING Group (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. ING Group had a net margin of 27.28% and a return on equity of 11.62%. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.40 billion. On average, research analysts expect that ING Group, N.V. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

ING Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.4002 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a yield of 450.0%. ING Group's payout ratio is currently 31.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upgraded ING Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of ING Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

About ING Group

ING Groep N.V. provides various banking products and services in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, rest of Europe, and internationally. It operates through five segments: Retail Netherlands, Retail Belgium, Retail Germany, Retail Other, and Wholesale Banking. The company accepts current and savings accounts.