ING Groep (NYSE:ING) Short Interest Down 7.5% in January

ING Groep (NYSE:ING) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,220,000 shares, a decrease of 7.5% from the January 15th total of 2,400,000 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ING. Barclays downgraded ING Groep from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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 Price Performance

ING stock traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $17.11. The company had a trading volume of 2,622,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,506,171. The company has a market capitalization of $59.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. ING Groep has a 1-year low of $13.24 and a 1-year high of $18.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $16.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.71.

ING Groep (NYSE:ING) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 expect that ING Groep will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

ING Groep Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th were paid a dividend of $0.1667 per share. This represents a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 13th. ING Groep’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.37%.

Institutional Trading of ING Groep

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC grew its holdings in ING Groep by 10.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 11,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in ING Groep by 10.1% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 230,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,187,000 after purchasing an additional 21,159 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in ING Groep by 10.9% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 19,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,877 shares during the period. Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new position in shares of ING Groep in the third quarter worth about $335,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of ING Groep by 345.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 21,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 16,548 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.