Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Upgraded by UBS Group to “Strong-Buy” Rating

UBS Group upgraded shares of Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Raymond James lowered shares of Voya Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.00.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

Shares of VOYA opened at $81.35 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.03. Voya Financial has a twelve month low of $63.11 and a twelve month high of $84.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $79.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.05.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The asset manager reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.86 billion. Voya Financial had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 15.09%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Voya Financial will post 8.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Voya Financial

In other Voya Financial news, insider Tony D. Oh sold 715 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.95, for a total value of $58,594.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Voya Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Voya Financial by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,067,291 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $818,094,000 after purchasing an additional 644,216 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 25.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,884,044 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $228,474,000 after buying an additional 592,523 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 1.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,678,016 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $212,152,000 after buying an additional 38,438 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 83.8% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,525,604 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $186,310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,822 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 1,020.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,368,185 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $175,057,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156,773 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

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.