Analysts Set Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Price Target at $107.75

Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $107.75.

Several research firms recently issued reports on AXS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Axis Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Axis Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXS stock traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $99.11. 661,289 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 619,849. Axis Capital has a fifty-two week low of $68.56 and a fifty-two week high of $107.19. The firm has a market cap of $7.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $101.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.34.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The company's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.07 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Axis Capital will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Axis Capital's payout ratio is currently 17.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axis Capital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Axis Capital by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,144,247 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $367,265,000 after buying an additional 17,764 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Axis Capital by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,444,128 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $305,219,000 after acquiring an additional 12,571 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Axis Capital by 22.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,290,411 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $328,580,000 after purchasing an additional 600,901 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Axis Capital by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,178,512 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $281,680,000 after purchasing an additional 53,514 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,042,925 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $181,045,000 after purchasing an additional 20,976 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.