ING Groep (NYSE:ING) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

ING Groep (NYSE:ING) was the target of a large decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,220,000 shares, a decline of 7.5% from the January 15th total of 2,400,000 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ING. Barclays cut ING Groep from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered ING Groep from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th.

Institutional Trading of ING Groep

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ING. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in ING Groep by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 68,451,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,243,072,000 after buying an additional 429,562 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in ING Groep by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,161,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,353,054 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in ING Groep by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,946,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,844,000 after purchasing an additional 31,963 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ING Groep by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,381,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,989,000 after buying an additional 74,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Todd Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ING Groep by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 2,771,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,436,000 after purchasing an additional 42,851 shares during the last quarter. 4.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ING Groep Stock Performance

Shares of ING stock traded up $0.29 on Monday, reaching $17.11. The stock had a trading volume of 2,622,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,506,171. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. ING Groep has a 1 year low of $13.24 and a 1 year high of $18.72. The stock has a market cap of $59.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.71.

ING Groep (NYSE:ING) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.02). ING Groep had a net margin of 28.30% and a return on equity of 11.81%. Equities research analysts expect that ING Groep will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

ING Groep Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th were issued a $0.1667 dividend. This represents a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 13th. ING Groep’s dividend payout ratio is 30.37%.

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.