ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING) have received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the nine research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on ING Group in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of ING Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded ING Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th.

ING Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ING opened at $25.15 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.78. ING Group has a 12 month low of $16.47 and a 12 month high of $31.17. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $28.36 and its 200 day moving average is $26.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

ING Group (NYSE:ING) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. ING Group had a net margin of 27.50% and a return on equity of 12.05%. The business had revenue of $4.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.67 billion. Research analysts predict that ING Group will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

ING Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th will be paid a $0.8796 dividend. This represents a yield of 589.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. ING Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ING Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Abound Wealth Management increased its position in shares of ING Group by 2,757.6% during the third quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares during the period. MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in shares of ING Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Binnacle Investments Inc grew 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. 4.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.