Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after Evercore ISI lowered their price target on the stock from $94.00 to $89.00. The stock had previously closed at $79.71, but opened at $76.25. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Voya Financial shares last traded at $75.61, with a volume of 255,332 shares traded.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on VOYA. Raymond James lowered shares of Voya Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Voya Financial from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Tony D. Oh sold 715 shares of Voya Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.95, for a total transaction of $58,594.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Voya Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 8.2% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 272,339 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $21,575,000 after acquiring an additional 20,750 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Voya Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Voya Financial by 8.1% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,591 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 48.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 48,890 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,872,000 after buying an additional 15,902 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 780.5% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,039 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 921 shares during the period. 96.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Voya Financial Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $7.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.14.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The asset manager reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. Voya Financial had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 15.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. Research analysts predict that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.66%.

Voya Financial Company Profile

Voya Financial, Inc engages in the provision of workplace benefits and savings products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Wealth Solutions, Health Solutions, and Investment Management. The Wealth Solutions segment offers full-service retirement products; recordkeeping services; stable value and fixed general account investment products; non-qualified plan administration services; and tools, guidance, and services to promote the financial well-being and retirement security of employees.