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

Key Points

• Axis Capital received a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 11 analysts, with seven buy ratings, three holds and one strong-buy rating. The average 12-month price target is $121, compared with the stock’s recent price of $105.82.
• Recent analyst actions were mixed but generally positive: UBS and Wells Fargo lowered their targets to $126, while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its target to $131 and maintained an outperform rating.
• Axis Capital reported quarterly revenue of $1.75 billion, up 7.4% year over year, but earnings of $2.84 per share fell short of the $3.25 consensus estimate. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.44, representing a 1.7% annualized yield.

Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $121.00.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AXS shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $131.00 to $126.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Axis Capital from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Capital One Financial set a $108.00 target price on Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Axis Capital from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th.

Insider Transactions at Axis Capital

In other Axis Capital news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total value of $250,869.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 46,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,573,985.43. The trade was a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Axis Capital

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew 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 buying an additional 1,083,579 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 299,573 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 21,001 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Axis Capital by 1.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,631,198 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $170,069,000 after acquiring an additional 15,755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Axis Capital by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,387,004 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $148,565,000 after acquiring an additional 10,246 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Axis Capital Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Axis Capital stock opened at $105.82 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $7.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.52, a PEG ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.49. The firm's 50-day moving average is $106.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.25. Axis Capital has a 1 year low of $88.07 and a 1 year high of $119.99.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The insurance provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.25 by ($0.41). Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.29 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Axis Capital will post 12.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Axis Capital's payout ratio is 12.50%.

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.

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