ING Groep (NYSE:ING) Stock Rating Upgraded by Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of ING Groep (NYSE:ING) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Thursday, Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of ING Groep from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th.

ING Groep Price Performance

ING stock opened at $17.38 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.54. ING Groep has a 52-week low of $12.44 and a 52-week high of $18.72. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.45.

ING Groep (NYSE:ING) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. ING Groep had a return on equity of 12.65% and a net margin of 30.60%. The firm had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that ING Groep will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

ING Groep Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.8143 per share. This represents a yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. This is an increase from ING Groep’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.70. ING Groep’s payout ratio is 28.32%.

Institutional Trading of ING Groep

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ING. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ING Groep by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 25,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 4,165 shares in the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of ING Groep in the third quarter worth about $185,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of ING Groep by 49.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 794,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,431,000 after buying an additional 263,904 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ING Groep by 345.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 21,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 16,548 shares during the period. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new stake in shares of ING Groep during the 3rd quarter valued at about $335,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.49% of the company’s stock.

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.