Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is positive: Voya Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from 12 covering brokerages, with a consensus 12-month price target of about $94.27.
• Recent earnings topped expectations: The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating estimates, while revenue came in at $1.93 billion, slightly below forecasts but still up 3.1% year over year.
• The stock and dividend remain notable: VOYA was trading near its 52-week high at $96.10, and it recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.47 per share, or $1.88 annually, for a roughly 2.0% yield.

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $94.2727.

Several equities research analysts have commented on VOYA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $89.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th.

Voya Financial Stock Down 0.3%

VOYA opened at $96.10 on Thursday. Voya Financial has a one year low of $64.50 and a one year high of $97.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The stock's fifty day moving average is $86.32 and its 200-day moving average is $77.57. The company has a market capitalization of $8.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.91.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 8.24%.The company's revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Voya Financial will post 9.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. Voya Financial's dividend payout ratio is 28.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Voya Financial

In other news, insider Trevor Ogle sold 3,994 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at $259,830. This trade represents a 58.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Voya Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 75.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 351 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Voya Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Voya Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Systematic Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in Voya Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Voya Financial by 59.6% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 573 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. 96.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.