Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Raised to Strong-Buy at UBS Group

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

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on VOYA. Barclays boosted their price objective on Voya Financial from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Voya Financial from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Raymond James cut shares of Voya Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Voya Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Voya Financial Price Performance

Voya Financial stock opened at $82.11 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.00. Voya Financial has a one year low of $63.11 and a one year high of $84.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

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

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Tony D. Oh sold 715 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.95, for a total value of $58,594.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 6,850.0% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 834 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 822 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Voya Financial by 21.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,659 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,504 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Voya Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $99,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 26.0% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 143,157 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,582,000 after purchasing an additional 29,535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 6.0% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 132,106 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,440,000 after purchasing an additional 7,491 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

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.