Axos Financial (NYSE:AX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Needham & Company LLC Analyst Says

Key Points

• Needham & Company LLC has increased the price target for Axos Financial (NYSE:AX) from $92.00 to $102.00, maintaining a "buy" rating, indicating a potential upside of 17.43% from the stock's previous close.
• Axos Financial's recent earnings report showed a EPS of $1.94, exceeding estimates and a 10.5% year-over-year revenue increase to $321.45 million.
• The company has initiated a stock buyback plan to repurchase up to $100 million of its own shares, reflecting confidence in its undervalued stock.

Axos Financial (NYSE:AX - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $92.00 to $102.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's price target would suggest a potential upside of 19.15% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on AX. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Axos Financial from $72.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Axos Financial from $84.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Axos Financial from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut Axos Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Axos Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.86.

Axos Financial Price Performance

Shares of AX traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $85.61. 366,041 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 396,033. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Axos Financial has a fifty-two week low of $54.46 and a fifty-two week high of $88.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.30.

Axos Financial (NYSE:AX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Axos Financial had a return on equity of 17.11% and a net margin of 22.24%. The company had revenue of $321.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $311.73 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Axos Financial will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axos Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, May 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Axos Financial by 45.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 410,590 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,680,000 after purchasing an additional 128,932 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Axos Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $223,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Axos Financial by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 70,885 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,951,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Axos Financial by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,488,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,975,000 after acquiring an additional 43,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP boosted its stake in Axos Financial by 152.2% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 43,888 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,066,000 after purchasing an additional 26,485 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.