ING Group (NYSE:ING) Sets New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating. The stock traded as high as $36.30 and last traded at $36.2010, with a volume of 184896 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.25.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research upgraded ING Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings cut ING Group from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ING Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MidFirst Bank acquired a new position in ING Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ING Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Binnacle Investments Inc raised its position in shares of ING Group by 57.0% during the 3rd 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 period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ING Group by 359.9% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of ING Group by 418.5% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 4.49% of the company’s stock.

ING Group Stock Up 3.0%

The firm has a market cap of $103.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $33.75 and a 200-day moving average of $30.43.

ING Group (NYSE:ING) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.04. ING Group had a return on equity of 12.59% and a net margin of 28.15%.The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.99 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ING Group, N.V. will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ING Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.458 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 260.0%. ING Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.10%.

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.