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

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $82.89.

VOYA has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Voya Financial in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Voya Financial from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 15th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Voya Financial from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 11th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Yvette S. Butler sold 2,074 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.93, for a total transaction of $151,256.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VOYA. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Voya Financial by 48.4% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 417 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Voya Financial by 115.5% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 474 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Voya Financial in the first quarter worth $35,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in Voya Financial in the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Voya Financial in the first quarter worth $46,000. 96.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Voya Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VOYA opened at $69.48 on Monday. Voya Financial has a fifty-two week low of $58.63 and a fifty-two week high of $78.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $7.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.16.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.26. Voya Financial had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The firm had revenue of $347.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $319.09 million. On average, analysts expect that Voya Financial will post 8.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Voya Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 28th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from Voya Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 25th. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.42%.

About Voya Financial

Voya Financial, Inc operates as a retirement, investment, and employee benefits company in the United States. Its Wealth Solutions segment offers tax-deferred employer-sponsored retirement savings plans and administrative services; and individual retirement accounts, and other retail financial products and services, as well as financial planning and advisory services.