Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Stock

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has raised its price target for Voya Financial's stock from $89.00 to $90.00, indicating a potential upside of 21.97% from the current price.
• Voya Financial recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.40 for the quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.31, although its revenue decreased by 2.6% year-over-year.
• The company has received various price target increases from multiple analysts, with an average target price of $83.50 and a general rating of "Hold."

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $89.00 to $90.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the asset manager's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target indicates a potential upside of 20.35% from the company's previous close.

VOYA has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Voya Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.70.

Voya Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VOYA traded up $0.87 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $74.78. 92,850 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 936,408. The company has a market cap of $7.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $70.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.72. 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 has a twelve month low of $52.43 and a twelve month high of $84.30.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Voya Financial

In other news, Director Yvette S. Butler sold 1,700 shares of Voya Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.18, for a total transaction of $112,506.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 355 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,493.90. This trade represents a 82.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Voya Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Voya Financial by 225.6% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 433 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Voya Financial by 149.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 481 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Voya Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in Voya Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. 96.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.