Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $84.00 to $88.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Voya Financial traded as high as $79.74 and last traded at $79.09, with a volume of 23818 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $78.51.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on VOYA. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Raymond James cut shares of Voya Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Voya Financial from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Voya Financial from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.82.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gillson Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Voya Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $11,142,000. FORA Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 94.1% in the 1st quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 28,175 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,083,000 after purchasing an additional 13,662 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 149.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 25,399 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,877,000 after purchasing an additional 15,216 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 348.4% during the 1st quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,993 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,330,000 after buying an additional 13,980 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc increased its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 117,706 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,357,000 after buying an additional 18,471 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

Voya Financial Stock Up 0.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $71.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.72.

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

Voya Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is an increase from Voya Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. Voya Financial’s payout ratio is 25.57%.

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.