Short Interest in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) Drops By 16.5%

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VOYA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Voya Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Voya Financial in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Voya Financial from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Voya Financial from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, 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 note on Friday, March 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Voya Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.50.

Voya Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VOYA traded down $0.91 during midday 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a PEG 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.36.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $1.97 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $304.66 million. Equities analysts predict that Voya Financial will post 8.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. Voya Financial’s payout ratio is presently 29.47%.

Institutional Trading of Voya Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VOYA. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Voya Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC increased its position in Voya Financial by 56.2% in the 1st 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 period. Clearstead Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Voya Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 213.2% in the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 595 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Voya Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. 96.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.