Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $85.08.

VOYA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James lowered Voya Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $83.00 price objective (down from $91.00) on shares of Voya Financial in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $94.00 to $89.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Voya Financial from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Voya Financial news, insider Tony D. Oh sold 715 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.95, for a total value of $58,594.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Voya Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Voya Financial by 2.3% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 282,034 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $20,067,000 after buying an additional 6,296 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in Voya Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $397,000. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in Voya Financial during the second quarter worth about $289,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 1.3% in the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 58,259 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,145,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Voya Financial by 4.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 42,206 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,003,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.10% of the company's stock.

Voya Financial Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Voya Financial stock traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $69.24. The company had a trading volume of 536,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 610,173. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company's 50-day moving average is $76.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.49. The company has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.05. Voya Financial has a twelve month low of $63.11 and a twelve month high of $84.30.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The asset manager reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.07. Voya Financial had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 15.09%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. Voya Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Voya Financial will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Voya Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.66%.

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.