ING Group (NYSE:ING) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• ING Group shares reached a new 52-week high of $33.60, last trading near $33.49, above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, although Zacks Research downgraded the stock to “Strong Sell.”
• ING exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.63 versus the $0.60 consensus estimate, while institutional investors increased their holdings; analysts expect full-year EPS of $2.87.

ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $33.60 and last traded at $33.4850, with a volume of 1862455 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $32.83.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of ING Group in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of ING Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, ING Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

ING Group Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The firm has a market cap of $95.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.24, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $31.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.38.

ING Group (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.03. ING Group had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 27.68%.The business had revenue of $616.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.86 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that ING Group, N.V. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in ING Group by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 717,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,103,000 after purchasing an additional 157,111 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial raised its stake in shares of ING Group by 665.4% in the 4th quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 44,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,256,000 after purchasing an additional 38,983 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of ING Group by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 429,176 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,017,000 after purchasing an additional 48,174 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ING Group by 885.4% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 411,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,821,000 after purchasing an additional 369,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ING Group by 954.1% in the first quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 101,528 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,645,000 after purchasing an additional 91,896 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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