ING Group (NYSE:ING) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Shares of ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $35.09 and last traded at $35.09, with a volume of 8334 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on ING shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ING Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research raised shares of ING Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ING Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

ING Group Trading Up 0.3%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.67 and a 200 day moving average of $29.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.07, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.85.

ING Group (NYSE:ING) last issued 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 company had revenue of $4.76 billion during 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that ING Group, N.V. will post 2.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ING Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a $0.458 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 262.0%. ING Group’s payout ratio is currently 28.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ING. Amundi purchased a new stake in shares of ING Group during the first quarter valued at $760,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in ING Group by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 87,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,709,000 after buying an additional 18,562 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in ING Group by 5.4% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 21,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 1,094 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in ING Group by 19.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 2,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in ING Group by 28.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 47,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,040,000 after buying an additional 10,650 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.