ING Groep (NYSE:ING) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

ING Groep (NYSE:ING) saw a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,910,000 shares, a decrease of 34.8% from the February 13th total of 2,930,000 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,860,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ING. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in ING Groep in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of ING Groep by 184.8% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ING Groep during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of ING Groep during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of ING Groep by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. 4.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Morgan Stanley cut ING Groep from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th.

ING Groep Stock Performance

Shares of ING stock traded up $0.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $20.26. 2,534,128 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,273,339. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.86 billion, a PE ratio of 9.46, a PEG ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.44. ING Groep has a twelve month low of $15.09 and a twelve month high of $20.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $17.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.91.

ING Groep (NYSE:ING) last posted 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that ING Groep will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

ING Groep Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th were issued a dividend of $0.1667 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 13th. ING Groep’s payout ratio is presently 29.91%.

About ING Groep

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.