Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) Given New $119.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group has raised its price target for Axis Capital from $115.00 to $119.00, signaling a potential upside of 26.88% based on current prices.
• A total of six analysts have given Axis Capital a buy rating, while four have rated it as a hold, with a consensus target price of $111.43.
• Axis Capital reported earnings per share of $3.29 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and showed a 12.6% year-over-year revenue growth despite a slight miss on revenue estimates.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at UBS Group from $115.00 to $119.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the insurance provider's stock. UBS Group's price target would indicate a potential upside of 26.88% from the stock's current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on AXS. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Axis Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.43.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

Axis Capital stock opened at $93.79 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.06, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.83. 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 fifty day moving average of $100.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.65. Axis Capital has a fifty-two week low of $70.16 and a fifty-two week high of $107.19.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. Axis Capital's revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Axis Capital will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axis Capital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $671,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Axis Capital by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Axis Capital by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 133,675 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $11,846,000 after purchasing an additional 4,303 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 314,372 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $31,513,000 after purchasing an additional 8,443 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the 4th quarter worth $319,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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