Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) Price Target Raised to $142.00 at Mizuho

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its price objective lifted by Mizuho from $137.00 to $142.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Axis Capital from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Axis Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.70.

Axis Capital Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Axis Capital stock opened at $112.51 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $101.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.46. Axis Capital has a fifty-two week low of $88.07 and a fifty-two week high of $115.91. The firm has a market cap of $8.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.38, a P/E/G 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.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.09. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 16.00%.The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.17 EPS. Axis Capital’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Axis Capital will post 13.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.11%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Axis Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Axis Capital by 80.8% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 396 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Axis Capital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in Axis Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Axis Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.