Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Earns Buy (B-) Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Voya Financial has been restated with a buy (B-) rating by Weiss Ratings, while multiple analysts have also increased their price targets for the stock.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings exceeded analysts' expectations, reporting $2.40 earnings per share and revenue of $1.98 billion, despite a year-over-year decline in revenue.
• Institutional investors hold a substantial stake in Voya Financial, with 96.10% of the stock owned by institutional investors and hedge funds, indicating strong market confidence.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b-)" rating restated by equities research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report released on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on VOYA. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Voya Financial from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Voya Financial from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Voya Financial from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Voya Financial from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Voya Financial from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Voya Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.70.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

VOYA traded down $0.78 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $74.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 401,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 902,462. Voya Financial has a 52-week low of $52.43 and a 52-week high of $84.30. The company's fifty day moving average price is $74.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.01. The company has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.98. 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 (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The asset manager reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.31. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 6.73%.The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.18 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Voya Financial will post 8.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 149.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 481 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 625.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 551 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in shares of Voya Financial during the 1st quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 44.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 730 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. 96.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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