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

Key Points

• Axis Capital has a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy", with eight buy ratings and two hold ratings. The average 12-month price target is $122.10.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $3.42 EPS versus the $3.33 estimate, though quarterly revenue came in below forecasts at $1.64 billion. Revenue still rose 8% year over year.
• Axis Capital announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, payable July 15, which works out to an annualized yield of 1.7%. The payout ratio is relatively low at 13.11%.

Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $122.10.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AXS shares. Mizuho set a $137.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Axis Capital from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th.

Axis Capital Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Axis Capital stock opened at $101.47 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.32 and a 200-day moving average of $101.79. The stock has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a PE ratio of 7.56, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.51. Axis Capital has a 52-week low of $88.07 and a 52-week high of $110.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.72 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 18.12%. Axis Capital's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Axis Capital will post 13.25 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 sale, the director owned 46,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,573,985.43. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axis Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. 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 worth $173,504,000 after purchasing an additional 21,001 shares during the period. Bull Harbor Capital LLC bought a new stake in Axis Capital during the first quarter worth about $910,000. Amundi lifted its position in Axis Capital by 88.5% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 11,647 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 5,469 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Axis Capital by 7.5% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,289 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Axis Capital by 25.7% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 92,474 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $9,378,000 after acquiring an additional 18,934 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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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