ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• ING Group, N.V. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from six rating firms, with two hold ratings, three buy ratings, and one strong buy rating.
• Large institutional investors have increased their stakes in ING Group, with notable increases from Price T Rowe Associates and Millennium Management, reflecting growing confidence in the company.
• ING Group recently reported earnings of $0.64 per share, exceeding expectations, and announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.4002 with a payout ratio of 31.34%.

ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of ING Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Barclays upgraded shares of ING Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th.

ING Group Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE ING traded up $0.34 on Wednesday, reaching $25.74. The stock had a trading volume of 405,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,767,897. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. ING Group has a 12-month low of $15.09 and a 12-month high of $25.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $23.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.42.

ING Group (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.40 billion. ING Group had a return on equity of 11.62% and a net margin of 27.28%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ING Group will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ING Group Cuts Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ING Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ING. Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in ING Group in the first quarter valued at $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in ING Group by 135.3% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,586 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 912 shares during the last quarter. Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new position in ING Group in the second quarter valued at $33,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in ING Group in the second quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Redwood Investments LLC purchased a new position in ING Group in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 4.49% of the company's stock.

ING Group 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.