Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) Given New $134.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its price objective increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $119.00 to $134.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Axis Capital from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho upped their price objective on Axis Capital from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Axis Capital from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.70.

Axis Capital Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of AXS stock opened at $112.51 on Thursday. Axis Capital has a 12-month low of $88.07 and a 12-month high of $115.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $101.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.49.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.17 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Axis Capital will post 13.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 13.11%.

Insider Transactions at Axis Capital

In other Axis Capital news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were 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 approximately $4,573,985.43. This trade represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axis Capital

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $491,786,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,579 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Axis Capital in the fourth quarter valued at about $103,001,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in Axis Capital in the third quarter worth about $56,705,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Axis Capital by 147.0% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 745,591 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $79,845,000 after purchasing an additional 443,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 374.7% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 553,565 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $53,032,000 after buying an additional 436,944 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% 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.