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

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $92.00 to $87.00. The stock had previously closed at $79.71, but opened at $76.25. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Voya Financial shares last traded at $75.61, with a volume of 255,332 shares traded.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Voya Financial from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised Voya Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Voya Financial from $94.00 to $89.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Voya Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

Insider Transactions at Voya Financial

In other Voya Financial news, insider Tony D. Oh sold 715 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.95, for a total transaction of $58,594.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in Voya Financial by 25.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,884,044 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $228,474,000 after purchasing an additional 592,523 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Voya Financial by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,055,263 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $146,234,000 after acquiring an additional 248,795 shares during the last quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA purchased a new position in shares of Voya Financial during the third quarter valued at about $19,269,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Voya Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,013,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Voya Financial by 29.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 651,803 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $46,376,000 after purchasing an additional 148,810 shares during the last quarter. 96.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

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 moving average price is $80.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.02.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The asset manager reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.07. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 8.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.66%.

About Voya Financial

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.