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

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,120,000 shares, a decrease 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 currently 2.3 days. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Voya Financial Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE VOYA opened at $68.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.06. Voya Financial has a 1-year low of $63.02 and a 1-year high of $77.28. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $69.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.29.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $236.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $304.66 million. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 8.51%. Equities research analysts expect that Voya Financial will post 8.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded Voya Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Voya Financial in a report on Monday, January 8th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Voya Financial from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Voya Financial from $79.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Voya Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Voya Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Voya Financial by 7.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,465,556 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $695,436,000 after buying an additional 752,851 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised 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 buying an additional 40,000 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Voya Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $80,749,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Voya Financial by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 681,329 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $49,710,000 after buying an additional 18,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in Voya Financial by 1,722.3% in the third quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 612,754 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $40,718,000 after buying an additional 579,128 shares during the last quarter. 96.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.