Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Stock Bumped Down to "Hold" by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Voya Financial from “moderate buy” to “hold,” though analysts’ overall consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a $104.15 target price.
• Voya’s shares opened at $94.82, compared with a 52-week range of $64.50 to $105.64. The stock has a market capitalization of approximately $8.59 billion.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.51, missing the $1.98 consensus estimate, while revenue fell 4.3% year over year to $1.88 billion; institutional investors own 96.1% of outstanding shares.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Atlantic Securities set a $79.00 target price on Voya Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $112.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Voya Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $104.15.

Voya Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VOYA opened at $94.82 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a PE ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $99.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.77. Voya Financial has a twelve month low of $64.50 and a twelve month high of $105.64.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The asset manager reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by ($0.47). Voya Financial had a net margin of 7.45% and a return on equity of 12.31%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Voya Financial will post 9.26 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Voya Financial in the second quarter worth $1,010,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 6.8% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 237,550 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $16,229,000 after buying an additional 15,186 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Voya Financial during the second quarter valued at about $850,187,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 172.7% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,487 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,945,000 after buying an additional 13,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Voya Financial in the second quarter worth about $2,045,000. 96.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Voya Financial Company Profile

Voya Financial, Inc is a financial services company that helps individuals, employers and institutions plan, invest and prepare for retirement. The company operates primarily in the United States and focuses on retirement plans, employee benefits and investment management.

Voya's retirement business provides workplace retirement plans and related services, including plan administration, participant education and advice. Its employee benefits business offers products and services such as group life insurance, disability insurance, supplemental health benefits and health savings account solutions.

Through its investment management operations, Voya serves institutional and individual investors with investment strategies across public and private markets.

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