Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $84.00 to $88.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Voya Financial traded as high as $80.36 and last traded at $80.21, with a volume of 71454 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $79.13.

VOYA has been the topic of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Voya Financial from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Voya Financial from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Voya Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.64.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VOYA. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 118.9% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 440 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Voya Financial during the first quarter valued at $43,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 822 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Voya Financial during the second quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Voya Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $85,000. 96.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Voya Financial Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.88 billion, a PE ratio of 10.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $72.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.14.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The asset manager reported $2.27 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.37 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. This is a boost from Voya Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Voya Financial’s payout ratio is 23.72%.

Voya Financial Company Profile

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.