ING Group (NYSE:ING) Stock Rating Upgraded by Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• ING Group has been upgraded by Morgan Stanley from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating, reflecting positive sentiment about the company's stock.
• Recent financial performance shows that ING Group reported $0.64 earnings per share, exceeding expectations of $0.59, with revenue of $6.55 billion in the last quarter.
• A variety of institutional investors have recently increased their stakes in ING Group, indicating growing interest and confidence in the company’s prospects.

ING Group (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ING. Barclays raised shares of ING Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Cfra Research raised shares of ING Group from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

ING Group Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE ING traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $24.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,303,064 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,479,604. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $23.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. ING Group has a 1 year low of $15.09 and a 1 year high of $25.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10.

ING Group (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. ING Group had a net margin of 27.28% and a return on equity of 11.62%. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.40 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that ING Group will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of ING Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ING. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD purchased a new position in shares of ING Group during the first quarter worth approximately $36,062,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in ING Group by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,161,116 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $65,205,000 after buying an additional 1,353,054 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in ING Group by 197.6% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,667,239 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,661,000 after buying an additional 1,106,926 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in ING Group by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 4,250,850 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $83,274,000 after buying an additional 869,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in ING Group by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,764,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $191,681,000 after buying an additional 593,424 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.