ING Group (NYSE:ING) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of ING Group (NYSE:ING) in a note issued to investors on Tuesday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on ING. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Citigroup upgraded ING Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of ING Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

ING Group Stock Up 1.4%

ING Group stock opened at $29.04 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.55. ING Group has a 12 month low of $16.04 and a 12 month high of $29.21.

ING Group (NYSE:ING) last released 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 firm had revenue of $6.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. ING Group had a net margin of 26.94% and a return on equity of 11.57%. On average, analysts anticipate that ING Group will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of ING Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ING. Abound Wealth Management raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 910 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership increased its stake in ING Group by 197.2% during the fourth quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc raised its position in ING Group by 57.0% in the third quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 1,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in ING Group by 2,440.8% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 4.49% of the company’s stock.

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.