AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Price Target Raised to $118.00

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its price target increased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $114.00 to $118.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on AXS. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AXIS Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.75.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $100.77 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. AXIS Capital has a 12-month low of $68.02 and a 12-month high of $101.42. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.10.

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

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 17.46%.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $199,999,959.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,786,435.50. This represents a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXIS Capital

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC raised its position in AXIS Capital by 53.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 48,964 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,898,000 after acquiring an additional 17,082 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,004,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 48.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 371,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,070,000 after purchasing an additional 121,437 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,463 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. 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.