Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Voya Financial has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 13 analysts, with eight buys, one strong buy, three holds and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $103.85, slightly above the reported share price of $101.20.
• The company’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations: EPS was $1.51 versus the $1.98 consensus estimate, while revenue declined 4.3% year over year to $1.88 billion.
• Voya declared a quarterly dividend of $0.47 per share, equivalent to $1.88 annually and a 1.9% yield. Institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 96.1% of the company’s stock.

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $103.8462.

A number of brokerages recently commented on VOYA. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Voya Financial from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Voya Financial from $112.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $111.00 target price on shares of Voya Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Voya Financial from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Voya Financial from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th.

Voya Financial Price Performance

Shares of VOYA stock opened at $101.20 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $97.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. Voya Financial has a 52-week low of $64.50 and a 52-week high of $103.85. The stock has a market cap of $9.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.07, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.89.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The asset manager reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.98 by ($0.47). The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Voya Financial had a net margin of 7.45% and a return on equity of 12.31%. The business's revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Voya Financial will post 9.25 EPS for the current year.

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 26th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Voya Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Trevor Ogle sold 3,994 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $359,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $259,830. The trade was a 58.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Voya Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VOYA. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Voya Financial by 75.5% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 351 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 4.8% during the second quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,857 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Voya Financial by 59.6% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 573 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Voya Financial by 56.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 612 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Voya Financial by 44.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 730 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. 96.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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