AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Hits New 1-Year Low - Here's What Happened

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $94.08 and last traded at $96.22, with a volume of 631024 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AXS. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on AXIS Capital from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on AXIS Capital from $120.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, AXIS Capital currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.25.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $95.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.13, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.83 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.07 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.46%.

Insider Activity

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $199,999,959.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at $224,786,435.50. This represents a 47.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,144,247 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $367,265,000 after purchasing an additional 17,764 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in AXIS Capital by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,444,128 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $305,219,000 after acquiring an additional 12,571 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,178,512 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $281,680,000 after purchasing an additional 53,514 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,510 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $238,344,000 after acquiring an additional 134,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,042,925 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $181,045,000 after purchasing an additional 20,976 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

AXIS Capital Company Profile

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.