ING Group (NYSE:ING) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

ING Group (NYSE:ING) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on ING. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of ING Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on ING Group in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup raised ING Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

ING Group Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of ING Group stock opened at $28.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. ING Group has a 52-week low of $16.47 and a 52-week high of $31.17. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $28.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.80.

ING Group (NYSE:ING) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $4.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.67 billion. ING Group had a net margin of 27.50% and a return on equity of 12.26%. Equities research analysts forecast that ING Group will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ING Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Abound Wealth Management lifted its position in ING Group by 2,757.6% during the third quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 910 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership grew its position in shares of ING Group by 197.2% in the 4th quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 629 shares during the period. Binnacle Investments Inc grew its position in shares of ING Group by 57.0% in the 3rd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 1,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in ING Group by 2,440.8% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196 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.