ING Group (NYSE:ING) Lowered to “Strong Sell” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of ING Group (NYSE:ING) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised ING Group from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of ING Group in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of ING Group in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, ING Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

ING Group Stock Performance

NYSE ING opened at $33.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $96.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $30.89 and a 200-day moving average of $29.13. ING Group has a 52-week low of $22.40 and a 52-week high of $33.36.

ING Group (NYSE:ING) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $616.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.86 billion. ING Group had a net margin of 27.68% and a return on equity of 12.27%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ING Group will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ING Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ING. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of ING Group by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 717,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,103,000 after buying an additional 157,111 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial boosted its holdings in shares of ING Group by 665.4% during the 4th quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 44,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,256,000 after acquiring an additional 38,983 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in ING Group by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 429,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,017,000 after acquiring an additional 48,174 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in ING Group by 885.4% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 411,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,821,000 after acquiring an additional 369,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Themes Management Co LLC acquired a new position in ING Group in the 4th quarter worth about $942,000. 4.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ING Group Company Profile

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.