Is ING Groep N.V. (ING) Still a Great Investment Choice?

Artisan Partners, a high value-added investment management firm, published its ‘Artisan International Value Fund’ third quarter 2021 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. A return of -2.84% was recorded by its Investor Class: ARTKX, -2.82% by its Advisor Class: APDKX, and -2.79% by its Institutional Class: APHKX for the third quarter of 2021, all compared to the MSCI EAFE Index that delivered a -0.45% return and the MSCI All Country World ex USA Index that was down by -2.99% for the same period. You can take a look at the fund’s top 5 holdings to have an idea about their best picks for 2021.

Artisan International Value Fund, in its Q3 2021 investor letter, mentioned ING Groep N.V. (NYSE: ING) and discussed its stance on the firm. ING Groep N.V. is a Amsterdam, Netherlands-based financial services company with a $57 billion market capitalization. ING delivered a 55.72% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are up by 43.55%. The stock closed at $14.64 per share on November 22, 2021.

Here is what Artisan International Value Fund has to say about ING Groep N.V.  in its Q3 2021 investor letter:

“ING Groep is a Netherlands-based commercial bank. ING’s core operations are in Benelux and Germany, but the bank also operates in several other European markets using primarily a fintech strategy. This is not new for ING. In fact, the bank has been operating direct banking for decades. However, the share price has suffered over the last few years, along with other European banks’ share prices, from increased regulation and financial suppression. This year, ING is recovering like most banks from the COVID-related provisions charged to the P&L in 2020. But unlike other banks, ING started 2021 with an overcapitalized balance sheet and a new CEO. Under CEO Steven van Rijswijk’s leadership, ING has taken steps to exit poorly performing businesses—which will positively impact both profits and the bank’s capital position. In addition, core profits are increasing, and the company continues generating capital. During the quarter, ING announced both a resumption of dividend payments and a new share repurchase program. The market is just waking up to this company’s quality and value. Even after the 12% share price increase during the quarter and the more than 66% increase year to date, the shares still trade undeservedly below book value.”

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Based on our calculations, ING Groep N.V. (NYSE: ING) was not able to clinch a spot in our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. ING Groep N.V. (NYSE: ING) delivered an 8.65% return in the past 3 months.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.