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

ING Groep (NYSE:ING) saw a large growth in short interest in 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 trading volume of 2,940,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ING Groep

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of ING Groep by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 35,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in ING Groep by 25.1% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of ING Groep by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in shares of ING Groep by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 41,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew its holdings in shares of ING Groep by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 14,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. 4.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

ING Groep Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of ING Groep stock opened at $19.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.35 billion, a PE ratio of 9.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $18.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.06. 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 has a 52 week low of $15.09 and a 52 week high of $20.79.

ING Groep (NYSE:ING) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ING Groep will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ING Groep Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be given 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 dividend 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.