AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Price Target Raised to $104.00

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $100.00 to $104.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 3.94% from the company’s current price.

AXS has been the subject of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $120.00 to $114.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.75.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:AXS opened at $100.06 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $7.87 billion, a PE ratio of 8.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50-day moving average of $95.28 and a 200 day moving average of $90.97. AXIS Capital has a 1-year low of $68.02 and a 1-year high of $101.42.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.07 earnings per share. AXIS Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $199,999,959.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,786,435.50. The trade was a 47.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 53.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 48,964 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,898,000 after buying an additional 17,082 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $1,004,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 48.6% in the third 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,463 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,548,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.