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

Key Points

• Voya Financial has an average analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 12 brokerages, with a consensus 1-year price target of about $91.73.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $2.26 EPS versus estimates of $2.02, though revenue of $1.93 billion came in slightly below expectations.
• Voya also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.47 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 2.1%, while insider Trevor Ogle sold 3,994 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $91.7273.

A number of equities analysts have commented on VOYA shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Voya Financial from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings raised Voya Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Voya Financial from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Voya Financial from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Voya Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $359,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $259,830. The trade was a 58.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Voya Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VOYA. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 21.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 84,715 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,741,000 after buying an additional 15,091 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 8.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 662,058 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $44,861,000 after buying an additional 51,376 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 13.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 37,836 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,564,000 after buying an additional 4,490 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 1.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 370,144 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $25,081,000 after buying an additional 6,127 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 44.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 730 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. 96.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Voya Financial Price Performance

Shares of Voya Financial stock opened at $91.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $79.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.92. Voya Financial has a one year low of $64.50 and a one year high of $92.00.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.98 billion. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 8.24%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. Analysts forecast that Voya Financial will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Voya Financial's payout ratio is 28.40%.

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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