Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $84.00 to $88.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Voya Financial traded as high as $79.74 and last traded at $79.09, with a volume of 23818 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $78.51.

VOYA has been the topic of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Voya Financial from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Voya Financial in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Raymond James lowered shares of Voya Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Voya Financial in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Voya Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $83.82.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Voya Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Voya Financial by 1,020.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,368,185 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $175,057,000 after purchasing an additional 2,156,773 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in Voya Financial by 83.8% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,525,604 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $186,310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,822 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Voya Financial by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,067,291 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $818,094,000 after acquiring an additional 644,216 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Voya Financial by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,055,263 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $146,234,000 after acquiring an additional 248,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Voya Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $13,013,000. 96.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $8.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.20, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $71.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.78.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The asset manager reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. Voya Financial had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 16.11%. Voya Financial's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. This is an increase from Voya Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Voya Financial's dividend payout ratio is 25.57%.

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.