Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Shares saw a mid-day uptick with 1,224,802 shares traded (a 19% increase vs. the prior session) and the stock rose to about $79.27 from a $75.75 close, trading up roughly 5.3%.
• Analyst sentiment is largely positive — seven Buys, three Holds and one Sell — with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.50, though several firms have trimmed targets (roughly $81–$100 range).
• Fundamentals: Voya missed quarterly EPS ($1.94 vs. $2.11 est.) while revenue grew 5% year-over-year; the company pays a $0.47 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~2.4%), with a P/E of 12.68 and market cap of $7.37B.

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 1,224,802 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 19% from the previous session's volume of 1,030,315 shares.The stock last traded at $79.2670 and had previously closed at $75.75.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Evercore decreased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Voya Financial in a research report on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.50.

Voya Financial Trading Up 5.3%

The firm's 50 day moving average is $69.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.48. The stock has a market cap of $7.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The asset manager reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.17). Voya Financial had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 13.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Voya Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 9.8 EPS for the current year.

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Voya Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Voya Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Voya Financial by 21.1% during the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 151,462 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $11,329,000 after buying an additional 26,346 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,662,301 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $199,140,000 after acquiring an additional 88,151 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,431,802 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $181,901,000 after acquiring an additional 43,513 shares in the last quarter. Cadence Bank lifted its position in Voya Financial by 59.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 49,299 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,688,000 after buying an additional 18,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its position in Voya Financial by 148.5% in the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 151,883 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $11,361,000 after buying an additional 90,764 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.10% of the company's stock.

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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