Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $83.33.

Several brokerages recently commented on VOYA. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Voya Financial in a report on Monday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $79.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Voya Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Voya Financial from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Voya Financial from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th.

Voya Financial Trading Up 0.9 %

Voya Financial stock opened at $70.75 on Tuesday. 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 market cap of $7.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.40. Voya Financial has a 12 month low of $63.02 and a 12 month high of $77.00.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The asset manager reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Voya Financial had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 16.74%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.69 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Voya Financial will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VOYA. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Voya Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $80,749,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,465,556 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $695,436,000 after buying an additional 752,851 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Voya Financial by 1,722.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 612,754 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $40,718,000 after buying an additional 579,128 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in Voya Financial by 405.2% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 314,293 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $20,885,000 after acquiring an additional 252,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Voya Financial by 141.0% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 315,982 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $20,997,000 after acquiring an additional 184,864 shares during the period. 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.