ING Groep (NYSE:ING) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

ING Groep (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company.

A number of research firms have commented on ING. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded ING Groep from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded ING Groep from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th.

ING Groep Price Performance

ING stock traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $20.71. 2,538,571 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,271,258. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.43 billion, a PE ratio of 9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.15. ING Groep has a 52 week low of $15.09 and a 52 week high of $20.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $19.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.32.

ING Groep (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.07). ING Groep had a return on equity of 11.81% and a net margin of 28.30%. The firm had revenue of $6.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.74 billion. As a group, analysts expect that ING Groep will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ING Groep Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th were paid a $0.6526 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. This is an increase from ING Groep's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.17. This represents a dividend yield of 5.1%. ING Groep's dividend payout ratio is 64.45%.

Institutional Trading of ING Groep

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ING. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of ING Groep by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,161,116 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $65,205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,353,054 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ING Groep in the fourth quarter worth approximately $14,375,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of ING Groep by 25.7% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 4,250,850 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $83,274,000 after purchasing an additional 869,281 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ING Groep during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,730,000. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in shares of ING Groep during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,129,000. 4.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ING Groep Company Profile

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.