ING Group (NYSE:ING) Upgraded to “Buy” at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of ING Group (NYSE:ING) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on ING. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of ING Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of ING Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of ING Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

ING Group Stock Performance

ING opened at $30.35 on Monday. ING Group has a 1-year low of $16.04 and a 1-year high of $30.70. The stock has a market cap of $88.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.81. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $4.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.67 billion. ING Group had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 27.50%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ING Group will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ING Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.8796 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. This represents a dividend yield of 589.0%. ING Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.87%.

Institutional Trading of ING Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amundi purchased a new position in shares of ING Group during the 1st quarter worth $760,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in ING Group by 27.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 87,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,709,000 after purchasing an additional 18,562 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in ING Group by 5.4% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 21,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in ING Group by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 2,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in ING Group by 23.2% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after buying an additional 3,548 shares during the period. 4.49% of the stock is 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.