Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Sets New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Voya Financial hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $93.43 after closing previously at $90.53. The move came on volume of 178,690 shares.
• Recent analyst activity was mixed, but the stock’s overall sentiment remains constructive, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.73. Several firms adjusted targets slightly up or down, while Weiss Ratings upgraded the shares.
• The company posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $2.26 per share versus the $2.02 estimate, and it also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.47, implying a 2.0% annual yield.

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $93.43 and last traded at $93.3840, with a volume of 178690 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $90.53.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VOYA. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Voya Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $89.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.73.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $8.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.92. The firm's 50-day moving average is $84.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. Voya Financial had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $359,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,887 shares in the company, valued at $259,830. This trade represents a 58.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 21.1% in the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 151,462 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $11,329,000 after acquiring an additional 26,346 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Voya Financial by 1.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 43,513 shares during the last quarter. Cadence Bank raised its stake in Voya Financial by 59.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 49,299 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,688,000 after purchasing an additional 18,462 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings in Voya Financial by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 203,101 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $15,129,000 after purchasing an additional 20,722 shares during the period. Finally, Prana Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Voya Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,454,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.10% of the company's stock.

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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