Federated Hermes Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,138 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 338 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $1,779,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,632,025 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $486,587,000 after buying an additional 207,233 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 2.5% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,976,903 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $167,808,000 after purchasing an additional 72,913 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.9% during the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,776,551 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,144,000 after purchasing an additional 16,031 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 89.5% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,230,822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $69,381,000 after purchasing an additional 581,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 942,121 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $53,107,000 after purchasing an additional 31,031 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $60.64 on Monday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $65.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.80.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.25) by $4.19. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 6.67%. The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 43.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on AXS shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on AXIS Capital from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.33.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Stanley A. Galanski purchased 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $58.45 per share, for a total transaction of $409,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 9,763 shares in the company, valued at $570,647.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.