Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $119.00 to $134.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Axis Capital traded as high as $115.91 and last traded at $114.3680, with a volume of 867077 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $113.06.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings raised Axis Capital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 46,347 shares in the company, valued at $4,573,985.43. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Axis Capital by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,710,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $173,504,000 after buying an additional 21,001 shares during the period. Bull Harbor Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the 1st quarter valued at $910,000. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 88.5% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 11,647 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 5,469 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 7.5% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,289 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 25.7% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 92,474 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,378,000 after acquiring an additional 18,934 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Axis Capital Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $101.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.46.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.09. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 16.00%.The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.17 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Axis Capital’s payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

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.