Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Voya Financial shares hit a new 52-week high after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target from $92 to $109 and kept an outperform rating. The stock traded as high as $98.87 during the session.
• Several other analysts also turned more bullish, including Raymond James upgrading Voya to strong-buy and UBS lifting its target to $125. Overall, MarketBeat shows a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $99.25.
• The company recently posted better-than-expected earnings, with $2.26 EPS beating estimates, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.47 per share, equating to a 1.9% annualized yield.

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $92.00 to $109.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Voya Financial traded as high as $98.87 and last traded at $98.4430, with a volume of 1355618 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $97.56.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Voya Financial from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $117.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $95.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Voya Financial from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Voya Financial from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Voya Financial from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Voya Financial news, insider Trevor Ogle sold 3,994 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $359,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at $259,830. This trade represents a 58.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Voya Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VOYA. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Voya Financial by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,492,908 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $334,677,000 after acquiring an additional 230,877 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in Voya Financial by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,673,118 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $250,947,000 after acquiring an additional 46,906 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in Voya Financial by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,557,281 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $265,363,000 after purchasing an additional 61,962 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Voya Financial by 6.8% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,418,536 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $242,716,000 after purchasing an additional 219,130 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,706,354 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $201,596,000 after purchasing an additional 44,053 shares during the last quarter. 96.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.91. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $86.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.87.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.98 billion. Voya Financial had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 9.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. Voya Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 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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