Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised its price target on Axis Capital from $119 to $134 and kept an overweight rating, implying about 19% upside from the current share price.
• Other analysts also turned more positive, with several firms lifting targets; the stock now has an overall Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $124.70.
• Axis Capital recently beat quarterly EPS estimates, but revenue came in below expectations; the company also saw a director sell shares, while institutional investors still own 93.44% of the stock.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $119.00 to $134.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the insurance provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price suggests a potential upside of 18.98% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Axis Capital from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America lowered 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $124.70.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXS traded down $0.23 during trading on Thursday, reaching $112.62. The stock had a trading volume of 287,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 635,396. 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 has a 1-year low of $88.07 and a 1-year high of $115.91. The stock has a market cap of $8.30 billion, a PE ratio of 8.40, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $101.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $102.42.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.09. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.17 EPS. Axis Capital's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Axis Capital will post 13.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Axis Capital

In other 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 value of $250,869.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 46,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,573,985.43. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Axis Capital

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 21,001 shares in the last quarter. Bull Harbor Capital LLC purchased a new position in Axis Capital in the first quarter valued at about $910,000. Amundi increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 88.5% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 11,647 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,181,000 after buying an additional 5,469 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,289 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 92,474 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $9,378,000 after acquiring an additional 18,934 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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