ING Group (NYSE:ING) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ING Group (NYSE:ING) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on ING. Zacks Research upgraded ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on ING Group in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of ING Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup upgraded ING Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

ING Group Trading Up 1.7%

ING opened at $25.97 on Friday. ING Group has a fifty-two week low of $16.47 and a fifty-two week high of $31.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.57 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company’s 50-day moving average is $28.71 and its 200 day moving average is $26.77.

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

ING Group Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in shares of ING Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Abound Wealth Management grew its holdings in ING Group by 2,757.6% during the third quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership grew its holdings in ING Group by 197.2% during 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 increased 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 buying an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. 4.49% of the stock is owned by 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.