Brokerages Set Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) PT at $124.70

Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $124.70.

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group increased their price target on Axis Capital from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Axis Capital from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Axis Capital from $119.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS stock opened at $112.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $8.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $102.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.55. Axis Capital has a 52 week low of $88.07 and a 52 week high of $115.91.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 16.00%.The company’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.17 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Axis Capital will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Axis Capital news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total transaction of $250,869.98. Following the sale, the director directly owned 46,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,573,985.43. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,592,270 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $491,786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,579 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Axis Capital by 8.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,682,238 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $373,412,000 after purchasing an additional 299,573 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Axis Capital by 1.2% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,710,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $173,504,000 after purchasing an additional 21,001 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Axis Capital by 1.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,631,198 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $170,069,000 after buying an additional 15,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Axis Capital by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,387,004 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $148,565,000 after buying an additional 10,246 shares during the last quarter. 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.