ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of ING Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Cfra Research raised shares of ING Group from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ING Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ING Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in ING Group by 135.3% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares in the last quarter. Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new position in ING Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in ING Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Redwood Investments LLC acquired a new position in ING Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 4.49% of the company’s stock.

ING Group Price Performance

NYSE ING opened at $24.8880 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $22.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.60. ING Group has a 52-week low of $15.09 and a 52-week high of $25.11. The company has a market cap of $78.33 billion, a PE ratio of 11.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.14.

ING Group (NYSE:ING) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. ING Group had a net margin of 27.28% and a return on equity of 11.62%. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.40 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that ING Group will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ING Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 25th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.4002 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a yield of 450.0%. ING Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.80%.

About ING Group

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.