Axos Financial (NYSE:AX) Sets New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• A new 52-week high for Axos Financial was reached at $92.72, with the last traded price at $92.50.
• Wall Street analysts are generally positive, with several raising their price targets; Needham & Company increased its target to $102.00 and maintained a "buy" rating.
• Axos Financial reported $1.94 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and indicating a 10.5% revenue growth year-over-year.

Axos Financial, Inc (NYSE:AX - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $92.72 and last traded at $92.50, with a volume of 279748 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $91.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AX shares. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Axos Financial from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of Axos Financial in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Axos Financial from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Axos Financial from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Axos Financial in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $90.86.

Axos Financial Trading Down 2.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 1.32. The company's fifty day moving average is $85.10 and its 200-day moving average is $72.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Axos Financial (NYSE:AX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $321.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $311.73 million. Axos Financial had a net margin of 22.24% and a return on equity of 17.11%. Axos Financial's revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Axos Financial, Inc will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axos Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, May 12th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Axos Financial news, EVP Andrew J. Micheletti sold 13,960 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.38, for a total value of $1,191,904.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 67,460 shares in the company, valued at $5,759,734.80. This trade represents a 17.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 5.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axos Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AX. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Axos Financial by 6.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the company's stock worth $149,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Axos Financial by 1.8% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,197 shares of the company's stock worth $623,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Axos Financial by 0.3% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,289 shares of the company's stock worth $3,216,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Axos Financial by 10.2% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,653 shares of the company's stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Global Investments lifted its stake in shares of Axos Financial by 1.6% during the second quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 9,988 shares of the company's stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Axos Financial

Axos Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides consumer and business banking products in the United States. It operates through two segments, Banking Business and Securities Business. The company offers deposits products, including consumer and business checking, demand, savings, time deposit, money market, zero balance, and insured cash sweep accounts.