Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Hits New 1-Year High at $77.06

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $77.06 and last traded at $76.93, with a volume of 21595 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $76.48.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on VOYA shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Voya Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Voya Financial from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Voya Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Voya Financial from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Voya Financial from $88.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.64.

Voya Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.38 and a 200-day moving average of $71.17.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The asset manager reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.13. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 10.87%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. This is a positive change from Voya Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. Voya Financial’s payout ratio is currently 25.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Voya Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VOYA. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 48,265 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,521,000 after purchasing an additional 4,608 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,115 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Voya Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $80,749,000. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 319,976 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $23,345,000 after purchasing an additional 15,606 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Voya Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $241,000. 96.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Voya Financial

Voya Financial, Inc engages in the provision of workplace benefits and savings products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Wealth Solutions, Health Solutions, and Investment Management. The Wealth Solutions segment offers full-service retirement products; recordkeeping services; stable value and fixed general account investment products; non-qualified plan administration services; and tools, guidance, and services to promote the financial well-being and retirement security of employees.