Zacks Research Downgrades ING Group (NYSE:ING) to Hold

ING Group (NYSE:ING) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on ING. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of ING Group in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on ING Group in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of ING Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded ING Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

ING Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ING traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $29.49. 557,479 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,022,371. The company has a market cap of $85.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. ING Group has a one year low of $18.36 and a one year high of $31.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.66 and a 200 day moving average of $27.01.

ING Group (NYSE:ING) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.67 billion. ING Group had a return on equity of 12.05% and a net margin of 27.50%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ING Group will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ING. Abound Wealth Management lifted 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 in the last quarter. MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in shares of ING Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership lifted its position in shares of ING Group by 197.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc lifted its position 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of ING Group by 359.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 4.49% of the company’s stock.

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.