ING Groep (NYSE:ING) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

ING Groep (NYSE:ING) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $19.46, but opened at $20.06. ING Groep shares last traded at $20.20, with a volume of 694,177 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

ING Groep Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $70.26 billion, a PE ratio of 9.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The business’s fifty day moving average is $16.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.78.

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

ING Groep Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Stockholders 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 of this dividend was Monday, January 13th. ING Groep’s payout ratio is presently 29.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ING. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ING Groep by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 20,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 4,196 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in ING Groep by 2.2% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 51,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of ING Groep by 30.8% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 266,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,849,000 after purchasing an additional 62,801 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its position in shares of ING Groep by 42.2% during the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 52,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $952,000 after purchasing an additional 15,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of ING Groep by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,314 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 4.49% of the company’s stock.

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.