ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 2,095,786 shares, a decrease of 34.1% from the May 14th total of 3,178,949 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,507,292 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days.

ING Group Stock Performance

Shares of ING opened at $31.25 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $29.55 and its 200-day moving average is $28.46. ING Group has a 12 month low of $20.39 and a 12 month high of $31.83. The firm has a market cap of $90.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

ING Group (NYSE:ING) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.03. ING Group had a net margin of 27.68% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The company had revenue of $616.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.86 billion. Equities analysts expect that ING Group will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ING has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of ING Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ING Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of ING Group in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of ING Group in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of ING Group from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MidFirst Bank acquired a new position in ING Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership grew its stake in ING Group by 197.2% in the 4th quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ING Group in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Binnacle Investments Inc grew its stake in ING Group by 57.0% in the 3rd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 1,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. 4.49% of the stock is currently 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.