Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $83.55 and last traded at $82.6380, with a volume of 115904 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $81.34.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VOYA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $93.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Voya Financial in a research note on Monday, April 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.30.

Voya Financial Trading Up 0.9%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $70.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.77. The company has a market capitalization of $7.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The asset manager reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.99 billion. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 13.96% and a net margin of 7.99%.The company’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.89%.

Institutional Trading of Voya Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VOYA. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Voya Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Voya Financial by 75.5% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 351 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Voya Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Voya Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in Voya Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 96.10% of the stock is 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.