Axis Capital Holdings Limited (AXS) - What Are Analysts Thinking About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Axis Capital: nine of 14 firms rate the stock a buy and five rate it a hold. The average 12-month price target is $120.
• Axis Capital reported quarterly EPS of $3.12, beating the $2.85 consensus, and revenue of $1.79 billion versus estimates of $1.69 billion.
• The company’s quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share equates to an annualized $1.76 and a 1.6% yield.

Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $120.00.

AXS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Axis Capital from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Atlantic Securities set a $122.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Axis Capital from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

AXS opened at $108.29 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a PE ratio of 8.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.22. Axis Capital has a fifty-two week low of $93.02 and a fifty-two week high of $119.99.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.85 by $0.27. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 14.62%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Axis Capital will post 12.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Axis Capital news, Director Henry Smith sold 4,893 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.15, for a total transaction of $519,391.95. Following the sale, the director directly owned 41,454 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,400,342.10. The trade was a 10.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Axis Capital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Axis Capital by 0.5% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30,646 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,293,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Axis Capital by 24.6% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 832 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 80.8% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 396 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Croban increased its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Croban now owns 11,464 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Axis Capital

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited is a global specialty insurer and reinsurer headquartered in Bermuda. Founded in 2001, the company serves businesses and other clients through insurance and reinsurance operations. Its insurance offerings include coverage for property and casualty risks, professional liability, cyber, marine, aviation, energy, and accident and health. Its reinsurance business provides protection to other insurers across property, casualty, and specialty lines. AXIS operates in markets around the world, including North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.

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