Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Shares Bought by Aigen Investment Management LP

Aigen Investment Management LP grew its stake in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 59.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 15,036 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,592 shares during the quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $1,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 147.0% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 745,591 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $79,845,000 after acquiring an additional 443,761 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $1,178,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $84,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $588,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 180,582 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,339,000 after purchasing an additional 18,616 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $101.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $88.07 and a 1 year high of $110.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.78. The firm has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.51.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced 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. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 16.00%.The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. Axis Capital’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.25 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.11%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 46,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,573,985.43. This trade represents a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AXS. Bank of America reduced their target price on Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Axis Capital from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Axis Capital from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Mizuho set a $137.00 target price on Axis Capital in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Axis Capital from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.10.

Axis Capital 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.