ING Groep (NYSE:ING) Short Interest Down 34.8% in February

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

Institutional Trading of ING Groep

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in 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 worth $2,612,000 after buying an additional 94,080 shares during the period. Challenger Wealth Management bought a new position in ING Groep during the 4th quarter worth about $329,000. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in ING Groep by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 47,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $741,000 after purchasing an additional 4,467 shares in the last quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in ING Groep during the 4th quarter worth about $195,000. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new position in ING Groep during the 4th quarter worth about $398,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.49% of the company’s stock.

ING Groep Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of ING stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $20.27. The company had a trading volume of 2,101,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,260,195. The company has a 50 day moving average of $17.26 and a 200 day moving average of $16.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $70.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.47, a P/E/G ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.44. ING Groep has a 1-year low of $15.09 and a 1-year high of $20.79.

ING Groep (NYSE:ING) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 28.30% and a return on equity of 11.81%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ING Groep will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

ING Groep Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 was Monday, January 13th. ING Groep’s payout ratio is presently 29.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.