ING Group (NYSE:ING) Downgraded by Zacks Research to "Strong Sell"

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded ING Group from “hold” to “strong sell,” adding to a mixed analyst picture that still averages out to a “moderate buy” rating overall.
• ING shares were up 1.7% and recently traded near their 52-week high, with the stock opening at $33.31 versus a low of $22.40 over the past year.
• The company’s latest earnings beat EPS expectations, reporting $0.63 per share versus the $0.60 consensus, though revenue came in well below analyst estimates.

ING Group (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on ING. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded ING Group from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of ING Group in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of ING Group in a report on Monday, March 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ING Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

ING Group Stock Up 1.7%

ING stock opened at $33.31 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $30.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.13. The stock has a market cap of $96.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.16, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. ING Group has a twelve month low of $22.40 and a twelve month high of $33.36.

ING Group (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.03. ING Group had a net margin of 27.68% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The company had revenue of $616.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.86 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that ING Group will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in ING Group by 7.3% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,764,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $191,681,000 after acquiring an additional 593,424 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ING Group by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,804,829 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $218,535,000 after purchasing an additional 191,101 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of ING Group by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,456,398 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $116,223,000 after purchasing an additional 73,959 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in shares of ING Group by 61.9% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,700,573 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $75,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,177 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of ING Group by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 1,803,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,986,000 after purchasing an additional 156,461 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 4.49% of the company's stock.

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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