Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $124.70.

Several analysts recently issued reports on AXS shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Axis Capital news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total transaction of $250,869.98. Following the transaction, the director owned 46,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,573,985.43. This trade represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axis Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AXS. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,592,270 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $491,786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,579 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake 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 valued at $373,412,000 after purchasing an additional 299,573 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake 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 valued at $173,504,000 after purchasing an additional 21,001 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 15,755 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 10,246 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS opened at $112.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.38, a PEG 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $101.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.46. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Axis Capital will post 13.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Axis Capital’s dividend 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.