Short Interest in ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING) Increases By 20.5%

Key Points

• Short interest in ING increased by 20.5% to 1,868,370 shares as of April 15, representing about 0.1% of shares short and a days-to-cover ratio of 0.6 based on average daily volume.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but the consensus is a Moderate Buy, with Deutsche Bank upgrading to Buy while several firms downgraded ratings from Buy/Strong-Buy to Hold.
• ING beat quarterly expectations with $0.56 EPS (vs. $0.50 expected) and higher-than-expected revenue; the stock trades at a market cap of $80.3B and a P/E of 11.55.

ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,868,370 shares, an increase of 20.5% from the March 31st total of 1,550,295 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,086,468 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on ING. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded ING Group from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ING Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of ING Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of ING Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated 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, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ING Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ING. MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in shares of ING Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership boosted its position in ING Group by 197.2% in the fourth quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 948 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc boosted its position in ING Group by 57.0% in the third 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. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in ING Group by 359.9% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in ING Group by 2,440.8% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196 shares during the period. 4.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ING Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ING opened at $27.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $80.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.55, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. ING Group has a fifty-two week low of $19.14 and a fifty-two week high of $31.17. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $27.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.25.

ING Group (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) last issued 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. ING Group had a return on equity of 12.05% and a net margin of 27.50%.The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.67 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that ING Group will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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