Critical Review: Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) and Baldwin Insurance Group (NASDAQ:BWIN)

Baldwin Insurance Group (NASDAQ:BWIN) and Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Baldwin Insurance Group and Voya Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Baldwin Insurance Group	-1.22%	13.24%	3.82%
Voya Financial	6.73%	13.72%	0.51%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Baldwin Insurance Group and Voya Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Baldwin Insurance Group	$1.39 billion	2.32	-$24.52 million	($0.29)	-93.52
Voya Financial	$8.05 billion	0.89	$667.00 million	$5.00	14.87

Voya Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Baldwin Insurance Group. Baldwin Insurance Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Voya Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

77.5% of Baldwin Insurance Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.1% of Voya Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 18.5% of Baldwin Insurance Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Voya Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Baldwin Insurance Group and Voya Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Baldwin Insurance Group	2	2	4	0	2.25
Voya Financial	1	3	6	0	2.50

Baldwin Insurance Group currently has a consensus price target of $43.67, suggesting a potential upside of 61.01%. Voya Financial has a consensus price target of $83.70, suggesting a potential upside of 12.59%. Given Baldwin Insurance Group’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Baldwin Insurance Group is more favorable than Voya Financial.

Risk and Volatility

Baldwin Insurance Group has a beta of 1.39, suggesting that its share price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Voya Financial has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Voya Financial beats Baldwin Insurance Group on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Baldwin Insurance Group

The Baldwin Insurance Group, Inc. operates as an independent insurance distribution firm that delivers insurance and risk management solutions in the United States. It operates through three segments: Insurance Advisory Solutions; Underwriting, Capacity & Technology Solutions; and Mainstreet Insurance Solutions. The Insurance Advisory Solutions segment provides commercial risk management, employee benefits, and private risk management solutions for businesses and high-net-worth individuals, as well as their families. The Underwriting, Capacity & Technology Solutions segment offers Future platform, that manufactures technology-enabled insurance products suite comprises personal, commercial, and specialty lines; specialty wholesale broker business that delivers professionals, individuals, and niche industry businesses; and reinsurance brokerage services. The Mainstreet Insurance Solutions segment provides personal insurance, commercial insurance, and life and health solutions to individuals and businesses in communities. The company was formerly known as BRP Group, Inc. and changed its name to The Baldwin Insurance Group, Inc. in May 2024. The Baldwin Insurance Group, Inc. was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.

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. The segment also provides wealth management services, such as individual retirement, managed, and brokerage accounts, as well as financial guidance and advisory services. This segment serves corporate, public and private school systems, higher education institutions, hospitals and healthcare facilities, other non-profit organizations, and state and local governments, as well as institutional and individual customers. The Health Solutions segment offers various insurance products comprising stop loss, group life, group disability, whole life, critical illness, accident, and hospital indemnity insurance. The segment also provides worksite employee benefits, health account solutions, leave management, benefits administration, health plan enrollment, financial wellness, and decision support products and services to mid-size and large corporate employers and professional associations. The Investment Management segment provides fixed income, equity, multi-asset, and alternative products and solutions to individual investors and institutional clients through its direct sales force, consultant channel, banks, broker-dealers, and independent financial advisers. The company was formerly known as ING U.S., Inc. and changed its name to Voya Financial, Inc. in April 2014. Voya Financial, Inc. was founded in 1975 and is based in New York, New York.