ING Groep (NYSE:ING) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

ING Groep (NYSE:ING) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $20.81 and last traded at $20.79, with a volume of 31183 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $20.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ING shares. Cfra Research upgraded shares of ING Groep from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of ING Groep from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

ING Groep Stock Up 0.3%

The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The stock has a market cap of $72.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.38 and its 200-day moving average is $17.37.

ING Groep (NYSE:ING) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $6.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.74 billion. ING Groep had a net margin of 28.30% and a return on equity of 11.81%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that ING Groep will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ING Groep Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th were paid a $0.6526 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. This is a positive change from ING Groep’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.17. This represents a dividend yield of 5.1%. ING Groep’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.45%.

Institutional Trading of ING Groep

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ING. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in ING Groep by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,342,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,078,000 after acquiring an additional 181,800 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of ING Groep by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 4,250,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,274,000 after acquiring an additional 869,281 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of ING Groep by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,946,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,844,000 after acquiring an additional 31,963 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ING Groep by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 2,771,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,436,000 after buying an additional 42,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its holdings in ING Groep by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 1,780,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,882,000 after purchasing an additional 6,200 shares in the last quarter. 4.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ING Groep

ING Groep N.V. provides various banking products and services in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, rest of Europe, and internationally. It operates through five segments: Retail Netherlands, Retail Belgium, Retail Germany, Retail Other, and Wholesale Banking. The company accepts current and savings accounts.