Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $122.10.

AXS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Axis Capital from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $122.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Axis Capital from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Axis Capital from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axis Capital

In other Axis Capital news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total value of $250,869.98. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 46,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,573,985.43. This trade represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AXS. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 63,457 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,361,000 after purchasing an additional 7,023 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 205,553 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,605,000 after purchasing an additional 12,680 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 86.2% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 47,277 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,739,000 after purchasing an additional 21,892 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 42.1% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 10,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after purchasing an additional 3,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 33.6% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Axis Capital Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:AXS opened at $99.85 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $100.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.09. The company has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a PE ratio of 7.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Axis Capital has a 52-week low of $88.07 and a 52-week high of $110.34.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 16.00%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.17 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Axis Capital will post 13.26 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.11%.

About Axis Capital

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides various specialty insurance and reinsurance products in Bermuda, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance. The Insurance segment offers professional insurance products that cover directors' and officers' liability, errors and omissions, employment practices, fiduciary, crime, professional indemnity, medical malpractice, and other financial insurance related coverages for commercial enterprises, financial institutions, not-for-profit organizations, and other professional service providers; and property insurance products for commercial buildings, residential premises, construction projects, property in transit, onshore renewable energy installations, and physical damage and business interruption following an act of terrorism.