Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Stock

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Voya Financial’s price target from $109 to $110 and maintained an “outperform” rating, implying 9.56% upside from the previous close. Analysts overall rate the stock “Moderate Buy,” with a consensus target of $102.23.
• Voya’s shares opened at $100.40, near their 52-week high of $103.85, despite the company’s latest quarterly results missing expectations: EPS was $1.51 versus the $1.98 consensus, while revenue declined 4.3% year over year to $1.88 billion.
• Institutional investors own 96.10% of Voya’s stock, while an insider sold 3,994 shares worth $359,460 under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $109.00 to $110.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the asset manager's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price points to a potential upside of 9.56% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on VOYA. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Raymond James Financial raised Voya Financial from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $117.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, June 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Voya Financial from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Voya Financial from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Voya Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.23.

Voya Financial Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE VOYA opened at $100.40 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $94.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.89. Voya Financial has a 1 year low of $64.50 and a 1 year high of $103.85.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The asset manager reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by ($0.47). The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Voya Financial had a net margin of 7.45% and a return on equity of 12.31%. Voya Financial's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Voya Financial will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Trevor Ogle sold 3,994 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $359,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,887 shares in the company, valued at $259,830. The trade was a 58.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Voya Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Voya Financial by 75.5% during 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 period. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC now owns 32,532 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,423,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 59.6% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 573 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Voya Financial by 56.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 612 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.10% of the company's stock.

About Voya Financial

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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