Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Stock Price

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised its price target on Voya Financial from $89 to $100 while keeping an “equal weight” rating, implying modest upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with several firms recently lifting targets or upgrading ratings; MarketBeat says the stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” and an average target of $95.27.
• Voya’s latest earnings beat estimates, reporting $2.26 EPS versus the $2.02 consensus, while the stock also traded near its 52-week high at $97.36.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $89.00 to $100.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the asset manager's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target points to a potential upside of 2.71% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on VOYA. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Voya Financial from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $117.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Voya Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.27.

Voya Financial Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:VOYA traded up $1.17 on Thursday, hitting $97.36. 722,217 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,159,471. The firm's 50-day moving average is $86.32 and its 200 day moving average is $77.57. The company has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.91. Voya Financial has a 1-year low of $64.50 and a 1-year high of $98.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 8.24%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Voya Financial will post 9.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Voya Financial

In related news, insider Trevor Ogle sold 3,994 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $359,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly 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 through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Voya Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Voya Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,372,000. Thrive Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Voya Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $223,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,940 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Voya Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,048,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 811.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 44,983 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,073,000 after acquiring an additional 40,046 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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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