Voya Financial (VOYA) could benefit from its capital-light business, strong free cash flow, organic growth prospects and possible value actions, despite lowered earnings estimates, RBC Capital Markets said in a note Tuesday.
RBC said Voya's Q1 operating EPS of $2.26 beat its $2 estimate and the $2.01 consensus, helped by stronger Employee Benefits earnings, underwriting gains, a stop-loss reserve release and lower expenses; however, net flows were weaker than expected in Retirement and Investment Management, but management still expects positive Retirement flows and more than 2% organic growth in Investment Management.
RBC cut its 2026 and 2027 operating EPS estimates to $9.45 and $10.50 from $9.76 and $10.72, and added that stop-loss remains important for Voya because it helps the company build deeper customer relationships and could be its biggest current opportunity to create shareholder value.
The investment firm said flow improvement could be stronger in H2, while possible reserve releases may support results if claims trends develop favorably.
RBC kept the company's outperform rating and raised its price target to $91 from $87.
Price: $81.48, Change: $+0.52, Percent Change: +0.64%