Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) shares 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VOYA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Voya Financial from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Atlantic Securities set a $79.00 price target on shares of Voya Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $112.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $111.00 target price on shares of Voya Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.69.

Voya Financial Trading Up 0.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $98.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.82. The firm has a market cap of $8.97 billion, a PE ratio of 15.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.85.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The asset manager reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.01. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 7.75%. The business had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 9.16 EPS for the current year.

Voya Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This is a boost from Voya Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 24th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Voya Financial

In related news, insider Trevor Ogle sold 2,093 shares of Voya Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.81, for a total transaction of $200,530.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VOYA. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Voya Financial during the third quarter worth $763,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Voya Financial by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 117,860 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,136,000 after purchasing an additional 11,886 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in Voya Financial by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 5,572 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $526,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. raised its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 4,876 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $461,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 29.3% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 53,045 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,012,000 after buying an additional 12,013 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

About Voya Financial

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.