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

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $105.68 and last traded at $103.3020, with a volume of 22,484 shares. The stock had previously closed at $104.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Voya Financial from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $109.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Voya Financial from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Voya Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Friday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.69.

Voya Financial Trading Down 4.1%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.85.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The asset manager reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Voya Financial had a net margin of 7.75% and a return on equity of 12.67%. Voya Financial’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 9.16 EPS for the current year.

Voya Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is a positive change from Voya Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 24th. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Voya Financial

In other news, insider Trevor Ogle sold 2,093 shares of Voya Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.81, for a total value of $200,530.33. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Voya Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VOYA. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 2,731 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Voya Financial by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,351 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,863 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 29.6% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 696 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its position in shares of Voya Financial by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,857 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

Voya Financial Company Profile

Voya Financial, Inc is a U.S.-based financial services company that helps individuals, employers and institutions plan for retirement, manage investments and address employee benefit needs. Its businesses are organized primarily around Retirement, Employee Benefits and Investment Management.

Voya’s retirement business provides workplace retirement plans, including defined contribution and defined benefit solutions, as well as individual retirement products and advisory services. Its employee benefits operations offer products such as health, life, disability and supplemental insurance, along with benefits administration and related services for employers and their workers.

Through its investment management business, Voya provides institutional and individual investors with asset-management and advisory capabilities across a range of investment strategies.