ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING) Short Interest Up 28.6% in December

ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 4,291,953 shares, a growth of 28.6% from the December 15th total of 3,336,245 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,344,779 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,344,779 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

ING Group Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:ING traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $29.04. 1,666,209 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,486,782. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $27.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. ING Group has a twelve month low of $16.04 and a twelve month high of $29.21. The company has a market cap of $84.52 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.82.

ING Group (NYSE:ING) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. ING Group had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 26.94%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ING Group will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ING Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 8th will be given a dividend of $0.2009 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 8th. This represents a yield of 71.0%. ING Group’s payout ratio is 31.08%.

Institutional Trading of ING Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ING. First Pacific Financial raised its stake in shares of ING Group by 665.4% during the fourth quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 44,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,256,000 after purchasing an additional 38,983 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ING Group during the 4th quarter valued at $210,000. Archford Capital Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in ING Group during the 4th quarter worth $212,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in ING Group by 885.4% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 411,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,821,000 after buying an additional 369,310 shares during the period. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in ING Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 62,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,749,000 after buying an additional 2,423 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup upgraded ING Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of ING Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

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.