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

Shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) gapped down before the market opened 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.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Voya Financial from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group raised Voya Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Raymond James lowered Voya Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Voya Financial from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Voya Financial from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Voya Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VOYA. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Voya Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Voya Financial by 118.9% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 440 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Voya Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $61,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Voya Financial by 3,640.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 823 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Voya Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

Voya Financial Stock Down 7.4 %

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

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The asset manager reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for 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%. Voya Financial’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 dividend yield of 2.44%. Voya Financial’s payout ratio is currently 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.