Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) Earns "Buy (B+)" Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Axis Capital has been given a "Buy (B+)" rating by Weiss Ratings, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.29.
• The company's stock is currently priced at $91.20, having traded down $1.29 recently, with a market cap of $7.13 billion and a P/E ratio of 8.77.
• Axis Capital's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $3.29, exceeding projections, but revenue of $1.63 billion was below estimates of $1.68 billion.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b+)" rating restated by research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a note issued to investors on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on AXS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $123.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.29.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS traded down $1.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $91.20. 935,025 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 703,876. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $96.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.77. Axis Capital has a 1 year low of $77.21 and a 1 year high of $107.19. The stock has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Axis Capital

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of Axis Capital 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 $4,666,597.65. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total transaction of $420,038.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,587,366.33. The trade was a 20.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,205 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,048 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Axis Capital

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Axis Capital by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,716,201 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $383,698,000 after acquiring an additional 425,790 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 95.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,852,398 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $185,685,000 after buying an additional 903,107 shares during the last quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 47.7% during the 2nd quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC now owns 1,817,204 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $188,662,000 after buying an additional 586,576 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Axis Capital by 1.0% during the 2nd 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, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Axis Capital by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,359,471 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $136,273,000 after acquiring an additional 4,793 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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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