Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) Coverage Initiated at The Goldman Sachs Group

Key Points

• Axis Capital has been upgraded to a "hold" rating by The Goldman Sachs Group, despite other analysts downgrading and maintaining varying ratings on the company's shares recently.
• The company reported a 12.6% increase in year-over-year revenue during its last quarterly earnings, exceeding earnings expectations at $3.29 per share.
• Axis Capital's stock has seen recent insider selling, with insiders offloading a total of 12,205 shares worth approximately $1.19 million in the past 90 days, though company insiders still own only 0.70% of the stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set a "hold" rating and a $104.00 price target on the insurance provider's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's target price points to a potential upside of 11.50% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on AXS. Wells Fargo & Company set a $123.00 price objective on Axis Capital and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $115.29.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

NYSE:AXS traded down $2.74 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $93.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 161,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 695,992. Axis Capital has a 1 year low of $77.21 and a 1 year high of $107.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.97, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.73. The business's fifty day moving average is $96.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.95.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Axis Capital

In other Axis Capital news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total value of $420,038.85. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,269 shares in the company, valued at $1,587,366.33. This represents a 20.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $4,666,597.65. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,205 shares of company stock worth $1,188,048 in the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 2.2% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Axis Capital by 68.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 370,054 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,094,000 after purchasing an additional 150,652 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 14.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Axis Capital during the second quarter worth about $321,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 7.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 305,752 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $30,649,000 after buying an additional 20,159 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.