Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $105.64 and last traded at $104.5540, with a volume of 29754 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $102.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on VOYA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Voya Financial from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Voya Financial from $112.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Atlantic Securities set a $79.00 target price on Voya Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Voya Financial from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.85.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $9.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $98.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.26.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The asset manager reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.98 by ($0.47). The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 7.45%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. Analysts expect that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 9.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 26th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Voya Financial’s payout ratio is presently 31.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Voya Financial news, insider Trevor Ogle sold 3,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 58.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VOYA. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Voya Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake 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 worth $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 worth about $28,000. Systematic Financial Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Voya Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Voya Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $48,000. 96.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.