Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) Short Interest Down 16.5% in April

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) was the recipient 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 short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Voya Financial Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of VOYA traded down $0.91 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $68.16. 1,081,516 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 892,358. The stock has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.06. Voya Financial has a 12 month low of $63.02 and a 12 month high of $77.28. 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’s 50-day moving average is $69.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.36.

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

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Voya Financial’s payout ratio is currently 29.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Voya Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VOYA. Vest Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Voya Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $881,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Voya Financial by 6,850.0% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 834 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Voya Financial by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 387,385 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,635,000 after buying an additional 4,250 shares in the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 56.2% during the first quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 414 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 0.8% in the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 36,528 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,700,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VOYA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $79.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Voya Financial in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.