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

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ING Groep

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of ING Groep by 129.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 166,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,612,000 after purchasing an additional 94,080 shares during the period. Challenger Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of ING Groep during the fourth quarter valued at about $329,000. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of ING Groep by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 47,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $741,000 after buying an additional 4,467 shares in the last quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ING Groep in the fourth quarter worth about $195,000. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of ING Groep in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 4.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of ING Groep from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ING Groep has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

ING Groep Stock Down 1.1 %

ING stock opened at $19.83 on Friday. ING Groep has a fifty-two week low of $15.09 and a fifty-two week high of $20.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.09 and a 200-day moving average of $17.06. The company has a market capitalization of $69.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.26, a PEG ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13.

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

ING Groep Increases Dividend

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