Axos Financial (NYSE:AX) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Axos Financial was upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen, with other firms also raising their price targets and ratings for the stock.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $1.94, exceeding estimates, and showed significant revenue growth with a 10.5% increase year-over-year.
• Axos Financial's Board of Directors announced a $100 million stock buyback program, indicating the management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Axos Financial (NYSE:AX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Axos Financial from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 price objective (up from $90.00) on shares of Axos Financial in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Axos Financial from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Axos Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Axos Financial from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axos Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.86.

Axos Financial Price Performance

AX stock opened at $84.38 on Friday. 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 has a 1 year low of $54.46 and a 1 year high of $88.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $77.92 and a 200 day moving average of $70.31. The company has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 1.32.

Axos Financial (NYSE:AX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.12. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Axos Financial will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Axos Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, May 12th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Axos Financial

In other news, Director Paul Grinberg sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total transaction of $2,042,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 113,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,714,256.55. This represents a 20.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Axos Financial by 94.8% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,017 shares of the company's stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 3,901 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Axos Financial by 1,700.0% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 900 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Axos Financial by 39.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,834 shares of the company's stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Axos Financial by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 50,402 shares of the company's stock worth $3,252,000 after buying an additional 6,957 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Axos Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $223,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Axos Financial Company Profile

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.

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