Zacks Research Upgrades ING Group (NYSE:ING) to Hold

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded ING Group from “strong sell” to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” based on one Strong Buy, three Buy, and four Hold ratings.
• ING shares opened at $33.25, near their 52-week high of $33.60, with a market capitalization of approximately $95.11 billion. The stock’s 50-day and 200-day moving averages were $31.45 and $29.42, respectively.
• ING reported quarterly EPS of $0.63, beating the $0.60 consensus estimate, alongside a 12.27% return on equity and 27.68% net margin. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 4.49% of the company.

ING Group (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of ING Group in a report on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

ING Group Stock Performance

Shares of ING stock opened at $33.25 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 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 52 week low of $22.53 and a 52 week high of $33.60.

ING Group (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $616.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.86 billion. ING Group had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 27.68%. On average, research analysts predict that ING Group will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MidFirst Bank acquired a new stake in shares of ING Group during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership boosted its holdings in ING Group by 197.2% in the fourth quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 948 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ING Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Binnacle Investments Inc increased its stake 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in ING Group by 359.9% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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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