Voya Financial Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:VOYA)

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 5,005 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 464% compared to the typical volume of 887 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Voya Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VOYA. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 9.8% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,078 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $641,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 172.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,487 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,945,000 after buying an additional 13,608 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its position in Voya Financial by 940.5% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 180,505 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $16,341,000 after buying an additional 163,157 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Voya Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $84,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Voya Financial by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 9,478 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $858,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. 96.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Voya Financial Price Performance

Shares of VOYA opened at $102.72 on Friday. Voya Financial has a 52-week low of $64.50 and a 52-week high of $105.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $99.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.48. The firm has a market cap of $9.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.90.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The asset manager reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.98 by ($0.47). The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 7.45%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Voya Financial will post 9.25 EPS for the current year.

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 26th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VOYA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price 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. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $112.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $95.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $79.00 price target on shares of Voya Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Voya Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.85.

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 benefits needs. Its operations are organized primarily around retirement, employee benefits and investment management.

Through its retirement business, Voya provides workplace retirement plans, including defined contribution and defined benefit solutions, as well as individual retirement products and financial-wellness resources.