ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,002,207 shares, a drop of 52.2% from the May 31st total of 2,095,786 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,452,077 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.2 days. Currently, 0.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

ING Group Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of ING Group stock traded up $0.20 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $31.38. 2,799,492 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,185,915. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.33 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.84. ING Group has a 1-year low of $21.84 and a 1-year high of $32.22. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $29.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

ING Group (NYSE:ING) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $616.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.86 billion. ING Group had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 27.68%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that ING Group will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on ING. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of ING Group in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered ING Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Zacks Research cut ING Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of ING Group from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of ING Group in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ING Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ING Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ING. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in ING Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 8,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its position in ING Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of ING Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 106,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,973,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of ING Group by 57.0% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ING Group by 0.7% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 58,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,531,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. 4.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ING Group Company Profile

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.