ING Groep Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:ING)

ING Groep (NYSE:ING) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 2,965 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 447% compared to the average volume of 542 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ING has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cfra Research raised ING Groep from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded ING Groep from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ING Groep

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ING Groep during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,375,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ING Groep by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 92,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after acquiring an additional 14,476 shares during the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in shares of ING Groep during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,129,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in shares of ING Groep by 97.4% during the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 51,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $814,000 after acquiring an additional 25,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of ING Groep by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 166,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,614,000 after acquiring an additional 41,457 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.49% of the company’s stock.

ING Groep Stock Performance

Shares of ING stock opened at $21.45 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $75.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.02, a P/E/G ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. ING Groep has a 12-month low of $15.09 and a 12-month high of $21.76.

ING Groep (NYSE:ING) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $6.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.74 billion. ING Groep had a return on equity of 11.81% and a net margin of 28.30%. Analysts expect that ING Groep will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ING Groep Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th were issued a dividend of $0.6526 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. This represents a dividend yield of 5.1%. This is a boost from ING Groep’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.17. ING Groep’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.45%.

ING Groep Company Profile

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.