Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA – Get Rating) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Friday.

Several other research firms have also commented on VOYA. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $78.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $75.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $83.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 16th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Voya Financial in a report on Wednesday, September 21st. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Voya Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $75.00 to $77.00 in a report on Friday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.42.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:VOYA opened at $67.95 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Voya Financial has a fifty-two week low of $56.20 and a fifty-two week high of $74.97. The stock has a market cap of $6.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.64.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $1.05. Voya Financial had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 11.30%. The business had revenue of $356.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.91 million. Analysts expect that Voya Financial will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Voya Financial

In other news, insider Michael Robert Katz sold 1,472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.18, for a total transaction of $97,416.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $894,753.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Michael S. Smith sold 8,342 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.89, for a total transaction of $524,628.38. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 196,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,373,733.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Robert Katz sold 1,472 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.18, for a total transaction of $97,416.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $894,753.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,814 shares of company stock worth $1,302,045 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Voya Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VOYA. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Voya Financial by 147.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 975,603 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $64,731,000 after purchasing an additional 3,021,715 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Voya Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $121,188,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Voya Financial by 34.8% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,113,373 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $125,809,000 after acquiring an additional 545,666 shares in the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC grew its position in Voya Financial by 12.8% in the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 4,628,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $275,563,000 after acquiring an additional 524,969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Voya Financial by 7.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,488,929 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $496,890,000 after acquiring an additional 519,701 shares in the last quarter.

About Voya Financial

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Voya Financial, Inc operates as a retirement, investment, and employee benefits company in the United States. The company's Wealth Solutions segment offers tax-deferred employer-sponsored retirement savings plans and administrative services; and individual retirement accounts, and other retail financial products and services, as well as financial planning and advisory services.