Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Axis Capital, with nine buy ratings, three holds and one sell among 13 analysts. The average 12-month price target is $121.23, above the stock’s reported $99.47 price.
• Institutional ownership is high at 93.44%, with major investors including California State Teachers Retirement System, AQR Capital Management and Dimensional Fund Advisors increasing their positions.
• Axis Capital’s latest quarter included EPS of $2.84, below the $3.25 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 7.4% year over year to $1.75 billion and slightly exceeded expectations.

Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $121.2308.

Several research firms have commented on AXS. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $131.00 to $126.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings lowered Axis Capital from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $108.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axis Capital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Axis Capital by 9,953.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 9,297,106 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $998,881,000 after purchasing an additional 9,204,632 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Axis Capital by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,592,270 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $491,786,000 after buying an additional 1,083,579 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Axis Capital by 8.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,682,238 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $373,412,000 after acquiring an additional 299,573 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,710,902 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $173,504,000 after purchasing an additional 21,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Axis Capital by 1.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,631,198 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $170,069,000 after acquiring an additional 15,755 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Axis Capital Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Axis Capital stock opened at $99.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a PE ratio of 7.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Axis Capital has a 1 year low of $88.07 and a 1 year high of $119.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $107.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $102.94.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.25 by ($0.41). Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.29 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Axis Capital will post 12.39 EPS for the current year.

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.

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