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

Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $111.4286.

Several analysts have recently commented on AXS shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $119.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th.

Axis Capital Stock Up 1.8%

AXS stock opened at $96.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a PE ratio of 9.30, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $96.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.02. Axis Capital has a one year low of $77.21 and a one year high of $107.19.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Axis Capital will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Axis Capital's payout ratio is presently 16.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Axis Capital news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total value of $420,038.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,269 shares in the company, valued at $1,587,366.33. The trade was a 20.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total transaction of $345,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 47,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,666,597.65. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,205 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,048 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axis Capital

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 2.2% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 68.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 370,054 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,094,000 after acquiring an additional 150,652 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 14.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the second quarter worth $321,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the first quarter worth $620,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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