Magnetar Financial LLC Makes New $767,000 Investment in Voya Financial, Inc. $VOYA

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC acquired 11,321 shares of Voya Financial, Inc., valued at approximately $767,000, in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Voya Financial, with Kelly Financial Group LLC leading with a new stake valued at about $270.68 million.
• Voya Financial reported $2.40 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 2.6%.

Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 11,321 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $767,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in Voya Financial by 84.3% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 45,700 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,097,000 after purchasing an additional 20,900 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Voya Financial during the first quarter valued at about $293,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Voya Financial in the first quarter worth about $8,192,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Voya Financial in the first quarter worth about $894,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 247.1% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 190,035 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $12,877,000 after buying an additional 135,292 shares in the last quarter. 96.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VOYA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.70.

Voya Financial Price Performance

VOYA traded down $0.54 on Tuesday, reaching $74.55. The company had a trading volume of 961,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 786,028. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.99. The company has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.43 and a 52-week high of $84.30.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The asset manager reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Voya Financial had a net margin of 6.73% and a return on equity of 13.72%. The business's revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.18 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.39 EPS for the current year.

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Voya Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.00%.

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.