ING Group (NYSE:ING) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $33.46 and last traded at $33.3710, with a volume of 184324 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research cut ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of ING Group in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of ING Group from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

ING Group Trading Up 0.6%

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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.25. The stock has a market cap of $96.99 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.85.

ING Group (NYSE:ING) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $616.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.86 billion. ING Group had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 27.68%. Sell-side analysts forecast that ING Group, N.V. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ING Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ING. MidFirst Bank purchased a new stake in shares of ING Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership increased its stake in ING Group by 197.2% during the fourth quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ING Group during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Binnacle Investments Inc raised its position in ING Group by 57.0% during 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 period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in ING Group by 359.9% during 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 period. 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.