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

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $80.92.

A number of analysts have weighed in on VOYA shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Voya Financial from $94.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Voya Financial from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $71.00 price objective (down from $79.00) on shares of Voya Financial in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $79.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Voya Financial stock opened at $57.52 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.90. Voya Financial has a 12 month low of $52.43 and a 12 month high of $84.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.40, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The asset manager reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by ($0.65). Voya Financial had a net margin of 8.29% and a return on equity of 14.10%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Voya Financial will post 8.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

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 $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Voya Financial

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Voya Financial by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,472,277 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $445,487,000 after purchasing an additional 876,399 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Voya Financial by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,185,726 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $219,274,000 after buying an additional 301,682 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in shares of Voya Financial by 277.8% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,898,785 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $199,062,000 after buying an additional 2,131,578 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,685,642 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $116,058,000 after buying an additional 23,818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 52.9% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,437,597 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $98,950,000 after buying an additional 497,348 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

Voya Financial Company Profile

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.