Short Interest in ING Groep (NYSE:ING) Rises By 184.3%

ING Groep (NYSE:ING) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,430,000 shares, a growth of 184.3% from the February 28th total of 1,910,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,940,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded ING Groep from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ING Groep

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in ING Groep by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,161,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,353,054 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ING Groep in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $14,375,000. Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of ING Groep in the fourth quarter valued at $11,730,000. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in ING Groep during the fourth quarter worth $10,129,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in ING Groep in the third quarter valued at $9,924,000. Institutional investors own 4.49% of the company’s stock.

ING Groep Stock Up 0.2 %

ING traded up $0.05 during trading on Thursday, reaching $20.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,696,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,263,563. The company has a market cap of $70.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.39, a PEG ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. ING Groep has a 12 month low of $15.09 and a 12 month high of $20.79. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $17.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.02.

ING Groep (NYSE:ING) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.02). ING Groep had a return on equity of 11.81% and a net margin of 28.30%. Equities analysts anticipate that ING Groep will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

ING Groep Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.6526 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This is a boost from ING Groep’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.17. This represents a yield of 5.1%. ING Groep’s payout ratio is 29.91%.

ING Groep Company Profile

ING Groep N.V. provides various banking products and services in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, rest of Europe, and internationally. It operates through five segments: Retail Netherlands, Retail Belgium, Retail Germany, Retail Other, and Wholesale Banking. The company accepts current and savings accounts.