Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.44

Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.44 per share by the insurance provider on Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st.

Axis Capital has increased its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years. Axis Capital has a payout ratio of 14.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Axis Capital to earn $12.33 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 14.3%.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

AXS stock traded up $0.04 on Friday, hitting $104.65. The company had a trading volume of 75,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 687,774. The stock has a market cap of $8.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.90. Axis Capital has a 12-month low of $84.81 and a 12-month high of $110.34.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 15.37%.The business’s revenue was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Axis Capital will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AXS shares. Compass Point set a $121.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Monday, November 24th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Axis Capital from $119.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Axis Capital from $124.00 to $121.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.00.

Axis Capital Company Profile

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.