Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $85.27.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Voya Financial from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Voya Financial from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Voya Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VOYA. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Voya Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $257,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Voya Financial by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 17,927 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,325,000 after buying an additional 1,322 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Voya Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $286,000. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Voya Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Voya Financial by 6,850.0% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 834 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

Voya Financial Price Performance

VOYA stock opened at $82.05 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $74.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.61. Voya Financial has a one year low of $63.02 and a one year high of $83.93. The company has a market capitalization of $8.07 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 10.87%. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.31 EPS. Voya Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Voya Financial will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. This is a boost from Voya Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Voya Financial’s payout ratio is presently 23.72%.

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.