Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $80.92.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VOYA shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Voya Financial from $79.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Voya Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $76.00 to $87.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Voya Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE VOYA opened at $56.74 on Tuesday. Voya Financial has a 12-month low of $52.43 and a 12-month high of $84.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.93.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The asset manager reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.15 by ($0.65). Voya Financial had a net margin of 8.29% and a return on equity of 14.10%. On average, research analysts expect that Voya Financial will post 8.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Voya Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Voya Financial by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 327,783 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $22,561,000 after purchasing an additional 11,336 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 420.8% during the fourth quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 64,398 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,812,000 after buying an additional 52,032 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Voya Financial by 260.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,384 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $646,000 after buying an additional 6,781 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Voya Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,155,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in Voya Financial by 48.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 48,890 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,872,000 after acquiring an additional 15,902 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.