Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Raises Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) Price Target to $130.00

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its target price upped by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $121.00 to $130.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price suggests a potential upside of 25.92% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on AXS. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (down from $116.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho started coverage on Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, December 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $133.00 price target for the company. Compass Point set a $121.00 price objective on Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $118.90.

Axis Capital Price Performance

NYSE:AXS opened at $103.24 on Tuesday. Axis Capital has a 12-month low of $83.90 and a 12-month high of $110.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $102.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 18.99%. Axis Capital’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Axis Capital will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 19,813 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,335 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 748 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 57.7% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,061 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $200,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 75.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 3,563 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 1,533 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.