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

Shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $84.5556.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Voya Financial in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Voya Financial in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Voya Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th.

Voya Financial Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:VOYA opened at $75.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $72.20 and a 200-day moving average of $72.45. Voya Financial has a 52 week low of $52.43 and a 52 week high of $78.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The asset manager reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 13.89% and a net margin of 7.55%.The business’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. Analysts predict that Voya Financial will post 8.39 EPS for the current year.

Voya Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This is a boost from Voya Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Voya Financial’s payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Voya Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Voya Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $894,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 247.1% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 190,035 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $12,877,000 after acquiring an additional 135,292 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Voya Financial by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 230,930 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $16,396,000 after purchasing an additional 21,186 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP purchased a new position in Voya Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $11,369,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Voya Financial by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,539,009 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $393,270,000 after purchasing an additional 407,426 shares during the period. 96.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Voya Financial Company Profile

Voya Financial, Inc (NYSE: VOYA) is a financial services company headquartered in New York City, focused on helping Americans plan, invest and protect their savings. The company traces its roots to the U.S. operations of ING Group, which were spun off in 2013 and rebranded as Voya Financial in 2014. Voya’s operations are built around a customer-centric approach, drawing on decades of experience in retirement planning and risk management to serve both individual and institutional clients.

Voya’s core business activities span three key segments: Retirement, Investment Management and Employee Benefits.