Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,120,000 shares, a decline of 16.5% from the March 31st total of 2,540,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 940,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Voya Financial Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Voya Financial stock opened at $68.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $69.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.29. Voya Financial has a fifty-two week low of $63.02 and a fifty-two week high of $77.28. The firm has a market cap of $6.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.06.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.02. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 8.51%. The company had revenue of $236.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $304.66 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Voya Financial will post 8.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. Voya Financial’s payout ratio is currently 29.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Voya Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AIA Group Ltd acquired a new position in Voya Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,717,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in Voya Financial by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,610,199 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $115,621,000 after acquiring an additional 40,000 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 1.5% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 27,980 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,859,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 141.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 315,982 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $20,997,000 after buying an additional 184,864 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 7.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,465,556 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $695,436,000 after buying an additional 752,851 shares during the period. 96.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Voya Financial from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Voya Financial from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Voya Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Voya Financial in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Voya Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.50.

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.