Short Interest in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) Expands By 25.1%

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,390,000 shares, an increase of 25.1% from the January 31st total of 1,910,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 866,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Voya Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VOYA. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 409 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Voya Financial by 207.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 485 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Voya Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Voya Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Voya Financial by 45.0% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 648 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

VOYA stock traded down $0.78 on Friday, reaching $68.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 77,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 872,551. The company has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $70.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.59. Voya Financial has a 52 week low of $64.10 and a 52 week high of $84.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The asset manager reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by ($0.65). Voya Financial had a net margin of 8.29% and a return on equity of 14.10%. As a group, analysts predict that Voya Financial will post 8.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VOYA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Voya Financial from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised Voya Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 target price (down previously from $91.00) on shares of Voya Financial in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Voya Financial from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.55.

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.