Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Sets New 12-Month High After Strong Earnings

Key Points

• Voya Financial shares hit a new 52-week high after Q1 results beat expectations, reporting EPS of $2.26 vs. the $2.02 consensus and revenue of $1.93B (up 3.1% YoY), trading intraday as high as $83.80.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.47 (ex-dividend May 26, payable June 26), implying a $1.88 annualized payout, a 2.3% yield and a ~29.9% payout ratio.
• Analyst sentiment is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $86.30 (eight Buy, two Hold, one Sell) and substantial institutional ownership at 96.1%.

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $83.80 and last traded at $83.0170, with a volume of 1951334 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $82.02.

The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.98 billion. Voya Financial had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 13.96%. The business's revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS.

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Voya Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VOYA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore dropped their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Voya Financial in a research report on Monday, April 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $93.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.30.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Voya Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Twin Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,538 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $857,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 47,273 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,230,000 after buying an additional 5,514 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Voya Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $448,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 209,857 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $14,337,000 after buying an additional 5,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 4,892.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 63,058 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,308,000 after buying an additional 61,795 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.10% of the company's stock.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $70.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $7.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.94.

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.

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