Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) Receives $86.33 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $86.3333.

Several research firms have recently commented on VOYA. Barclays raised Voya Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $83.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Voya Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Voya Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Voya Financial Stock Down 4.7%

VOYA opened at $74.63 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.62. The company has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.90. Voya Financial has a 1-year low of $52.43 and a 1-year high of $79.99. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The asset manager reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.23. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 13.89% and a net margin of 7.55%.The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. Voya Financial’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Voya Financial will post 8.39 EPS for the current year.

Voya Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th were given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 26th. This is a positive change from Voya Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.30%.

Institutional Trading of Voya Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Voya Financial by 75.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 351 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Voya Financial by 2.0% during the third quarter. Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,317 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 4.2% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,269 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 4.7% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,520 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 1.5% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 14,677 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,098,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

About Voya Financial

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.