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

ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ING shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of ING Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ING Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of ING Group from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of ING Group in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of ING Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

ING Group Stock Up 5.6%

ING opened at $29.99 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market cap of $87.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.83. ING Group has a twelve month low of $20.07 and a twelve month high of $31.17. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $27.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.37.

ING Group (NYSE:ING) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.86 billion. ING Group had a net margin of 27.68% and a return on equity of 12.27%. As a group, equities analysts expect that ING Group will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of ING Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in ING Group by 411.2% during the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 2,533 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in ING Group by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 26,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ING Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in ING Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $651,000. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in ING Group by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 19,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $508,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 4.49% of the company’s stock.

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.