ING Group (NYSE:ING) Upgraded at Weiss Ratings

Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ING Group (NYSE:ING) from a hold (c+) rating to a buy (b-) rating in a research note released on Saturday,Weiss Ratings reports.

ING has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays raised shares of ING Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Cfra Research raised shares of ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of ING Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

ING Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ING opened at $24.28 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $24.75 and its 200 day moving average is $22.65. 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 company has a market capitalization of $76.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. ING Group has a fifty-two week low of $15.09 and a fifty-two week high of $26.27.

ING Group (NYSE:ING) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.40 billion. ING Group had a net margin of 27.28% and a return on equity of 11.62%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that ING Group will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

ING Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.4002 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 450.0%. ING Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ING Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ING. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD bought a new stake in shares of ING Group during the first quarter valued at about $36,062,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in ING Group by 197.6% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,667,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,661,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106,926 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in ING Group by 25.7% during the first 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 last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in ING Group by 7.3% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,764,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $191,681,000 after acquiring an additional 593,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in ING Group by 1,434.0% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 405,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,932,000 after acquiring an additional 378,693 shares during the last quarter. 4.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.