Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) shares hit a new 52-week high on Friday after Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $83.00 to $90.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Voya Financial traded as high as $80.36 and last traded at $80.21, with a volume of 71454 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.13.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Voya Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Voya Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.27.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Voya Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $363,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Voya Financial by 118.9% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 440 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc. raised its position in Voya Financial by 7.7% in the third quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 9,586 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $759,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Voya Financial by 379.8% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,242 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 10,482 shares during the period. Finally, Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Voya Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $1,234,000. Institutional investors own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

Voya Financial Stock Up 0.9 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $7.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.20.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The asset manager reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Voya Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This is a boost from Voya Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Voya Financial’s dividend 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.