ING Group (NYSE:ING) Sees Strong Trading Volume – What’s Next?

ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 5,805,783 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 121% from the previous session’s volume of 2,627,372 shares.The stock last traded at $28.3370 and had previously closed at $28.82.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ING. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of ING Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Zacks Research raised ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of ING Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

ING Group Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $28.63 and its 200 day moving average is $26.15. The stock has a market cap of $81.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

ING Group (NYSE:ING) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $4.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.67 billion. ING Group had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 27.50%. As a group, analysts predict that ING Group, N.V. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ING Group Announces Dividend

The firm 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 is Friday, April 17th. This represents a yield of 589.0%. ING Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ING Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ING. Abound Wealth Management boosted 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership increased its stake in ING Group by 197.2% in the 4th quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc raised its holdings 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in ING Group by 2,440.8% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in ING Group by 129.1% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. 4.49% of the stock is currently 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.