Wall Street Zen Downgrades Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) to Hold

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Voya Financial from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Voya Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Voya Financial from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Voya Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.50.

Voya Financial Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of VOYA opened at $70.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.99. Voya Financial has a 52 week low of $52.43 and a 52 week high of $83.58. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $74.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The asset manager reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 13.89% and a net margin of 7.55%.Voya Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Voya Financial will post 8.39 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Voya Financial

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VOYA. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Voya Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Voya Financial by 225.6% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 433 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Voya Financial by 149.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 481 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in Voya Financial by 5,180.0% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 528 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Voya Financial by 625.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 551 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

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.