ING Group (NYSE:ING) Now Covered by Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of ING Group (NYSE:ING) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

ING has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup raised ING Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of ING Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ING Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

ING Group Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of NYSE:ING opened at $30.05 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.60. ING Group has a 12-month low of $16.04 and a 12-month high of $30.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99. The company has a market capitalization of $87.44 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.82.

ING Group (NYSE:ING) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.06. ING Group had a net margin of 26.94% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The business had revenue of $6.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ING Group will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ING Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 8th were given a $0.2009 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 71.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 8th. ING Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.08%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ING Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in ING Group by 249.9% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 2,047,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462,527 shares in the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA boosted its position in shares of ING Group by 280.3% during the 3rd quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA now owns 900,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,496,000 after purchasing an additional 664,063 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of ING Group by 7.3% in 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 buying an additional 593,424 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in ING Group by 885.4% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 411,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,821,000 after acquiring an additional 369,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ING Group by 22.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,721,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,884,000 after purchasing an additional 312,720 shares in the last quarter. 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.