ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• ING Group’s short interest surged 63.1% to 1.94 million shares as of August 14, though short positions represented just 0.1% of shares outstanding and 0.8 days of average trading volume.
• The stock traded at $35.34, near its 52-week high of $36.24, with shares up relative to their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. ING’s latest quarterly earnings of $0.79 per share exceeded analyst expectations of $0.75.
• Analyst sentiment remained generally positive, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating; institutional investors also increased several positions, while ING paid a reported $0.458 per-share dividend.

ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 1,943,040 shares, an increase of 63.1% from the July 30th total of 1,191,229 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,368,648 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.8 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

ING Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ING traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $35.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,080,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,935,807. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $33.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.10. ING Group has a 1-year low of $23.63 and a 1-year high of $36.24.

ING Group (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.99 billion. ING Group had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 12.59%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ING Group will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ING Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.458 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 260.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. ING Group's payout ratio is currently 29.10%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ING Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ING. Amundi acquired a new position in ING Group during the first quarter worth $760,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ING Group by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 87,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,709,000 after acquiring an additional 18,562 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of ING Group by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 21,329 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of ING Group by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,823 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 2,745 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of ING Group by 28.9% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 47,534 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,040,000 after acquiring an additional 10,650 shares during the period. 4.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ING shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of ING Group from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research upgraded ING Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

ING Group Company Profile

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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