ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• The nine analysts covering ING Group give it a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" (3 hold, 4 buy, 2 strong buy).
• ING beat quarterly estimates with $0.56 EPS vs. $0.50 expected and $6.80B in revenue vs. $6.67B, and analysts forecast about 2.14 EPS for the current year.
• The company announced a dividend of $0.8796 per share payable May 1, with the record/ex-dividend date on April 17.

ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ING shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded ING Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded ING Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of ING Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of ING Group in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded ING Group from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ING Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in ING Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 8,734 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in ING Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in ING Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 106,170 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,973,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc increased its holdings in ING Group by 57.0% during the 3rd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 1,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in ING Group by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 63,613 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,659,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. 4.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ING Group Stock Performance

ING Group stock opened at $28.71 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $27.71 and its 200-day moving average is $26.96. The company has a market cap of $83.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. ING Group has a 12 month low of $17.69 and a 12 month high of $31.17.

ING Group (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.67 billion. ING Group had a return on equity of 12.05% and a net margin of 27.50%. Equities analysts anticipate that ING Group will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

ING Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.8796 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 589.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th. ING Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.87%.

About ING Group

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.

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