Voya Financial Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:VOYA)

Key Points

• Voya Financial saw unusually heavy options activity: Traders purchased 21,179 call options, roughly 3,465% above the average volume of 594 calls.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $103.69, despite some recent target-price reductions.
• Shares rose 3.1% to $96.28 during Tuesday trading. Voya also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.47, equivalent to an annualized $1.88 dividend and a 2.0% yield.

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 21,179 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 3,465% compared to the average volume of 594 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on VOYA shares. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $111.00 price objective on shares of Voya Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and set a $108.00 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Voya Financial in a report on Friday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Voya Financial from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped 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. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Voya Financial from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Voya Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.69.

Voya Financial Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of VOYA traded up $2.86 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $96.28. The stock had a trading volume of 166,114 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,111,610. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Voya Financial has a 52-week low of $64.50 and a 52-week high of $105.64. The business's fifty day moving average is $99.07 and its 200 day moving average is $91.06. The firm has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.90.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The asset manager reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.98 by ($0.47). The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Voya Financial will post 9.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 26th were issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 26th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Voya Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Voya Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VOYA. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Voya Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $136,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 2,731 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 141.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 303,681 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,692,000 after buying an additional 178,070 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Voya Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $710,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,217 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.10% of the company's stock.

Voya Financial Company Profile

Voya Financial, Inc is a U.S.-based financial services company that helps individuals, employers and institutions plan for retirement, manage investments and address employee benefit needs. Its businesses are organized primarily around Retirement, Employee Benefits and Investment Management.

Voya's retirement business provides workplace retirement plans, including defined contribution and defined benefit solutions, as well as individual retirement products and advisory services. Its employee benefits operations offer products such as health, life, disability and supplemental insurance, along with benefits administration and related services for employers and their workers.

Through its investment management business, Voya provides institutional and individual investors with asset-management and advisory capabilities across a range of investment strategies.

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