ING Group (NYSE:ING) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $29.77 and last traded at $29.6260, with a volume of 253463 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on ING. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of ING Group in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of ING Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of ING Group in a research 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 investment 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

ING Group Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $86.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50 day moving average is $27.46 and its 200 day moving average is $25.55. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. ING Group had a net margin of 26.94% and a return on equity of 11.57%. Research analysts forecast that ING Group, N.V. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ING Group Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ING Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ING. Abound Wealth Management increased its holdings in ING Group by 2,757.6% during the 3rd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership grew its position in shares of ING Group by 197.2% in the fourth quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc increased its stake in shares of ING Group by 57.0% during the 3rd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 1,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in ING Group by 129.1% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. 4.49% of the stock is currently 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.