Ruffer LLP Makes New Investment in Voya Financial, Inc. $VOYA

Key Points

• Ruffer LLP opened a new position in Voya during Q4, buying 42,265 shares (~$3.15M), and institutional investors now own about 96.10% of the stock.
• Several analysts (UBS, Barclays, Wells Fargo, Evercore) have trimmed price targets recently, but the consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average target of $85.50.
• Voya reported an EPS miss ($1.94 vs. $2.11 est.) while revenue rose to $2.01B; the stock trades near $74.88 with a PE of 11.9, market cap ~ $6.9B, and a 2.5% dividend yield.

Ruffer LLP purchased a new position in shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 42,265 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $3,153,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Voya Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 75.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 351 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Voya Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 5,180.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 528 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 625.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 551 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. 96.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VOYA shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Voya Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore dropped their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Voya Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.50.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VOYA opened at $74.88 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $69.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.45. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.68 and a 12-month high of $79.99. The firm has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The asset manager reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.17). Voya Financial had a return on equity of 13.96% and a net margin of 7.99%.The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 9.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Voya Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.89%.

Voya Financial Company Profile

Voya Financial, Inc NYSE: VOYA is a financial services company headquartered in New York City, focused on helping Americans plan, invest and protect their savings. The company traces its roots to the U.S. operations of ING Group, which were spun off in 2013 and rebranded as Voya Financial in 2014. Voya's operations are built around a customer-centric approach, drawing on decades of experience in retirement planning and risk management to serve both individual and institutional clients.

Voya's core business activities span three key segments: Retirement, Investment Management and Employee Benefits.

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