Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 724,205 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 37% from the previous session’s volume of 1,149,451 shares.The stock last traded at $100.8050 and had previously closed at $98.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on VOYA shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Voya Financial from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Voya Financial from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $89.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Voya Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.69.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $9.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $88.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.68.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.24. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 8.24%.The business had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. Voya Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Voya Financial’s payout ratio is currently 28.40%.

Insider Transactions at Voya Financial

In other news, insider Trevor Ogle sold 3,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $359,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $259,830. This trade represents a 58.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Voya Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Voya Financial by 75.5% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 351 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Voya Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Voya Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Systematic Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in Voya Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 59.6% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 573 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. 96.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.