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

Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $107.75.

AXS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Wednesday, May 14th.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

AXS stock opened at $100.96 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.94 billion, a PE ratio of 8.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.83. AXIS Capital has a one year low of $68.02 and a one year high of $107.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $98.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.28.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. AXIS Capital’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.07 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 1,542.9% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 575 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in AXIS Capital by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

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.