Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $90.54 and last traded at $89.2550, with a volume of 804780 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.47.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Voya Financial from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Voya Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Voya Financial from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on 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 research note on Friday, June 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.73.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $8.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day moving average of $78.42 and a 200-day moving average of $74.70.

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 company had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.40%.

Insider Transactions at Voya Financial

In related news, insider Trevor Ogle sold 3,994 shares of Voya Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $359,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Voya Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VOYA. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Voya Financial by 21.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 84,715 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,741,000 after buying an additional 15,091 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Voya Financial by 8.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 662,058 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $44,861,000 after buying an additional 51,376 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Voya Financial by 13.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 37,836 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,564,000 after buying an additional 4,490 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Voya Financial by 1.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 370,144 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,081,000 after purchasing an additional 6,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Voya Financial by 44.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 730 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

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.