Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Axis Capital, with nine buy, three hold and one sell rating among 13 firms. The average 12-month price target is $120.31, compared with the stock’s $96.20 opening price.
• Axis Capital reported quarterly EPS of $2.84, missing the $3.25 consensus estimate, while revenue of $1.75 billion exceeded expectations and rose 7.4% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, representing an annualized payout of $1.76 and a 1.8% yield; institutional investors own 93.44% of outstanding shares.

Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $120.3077.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Axis Capital from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Monday. Capital One Financial set a $108.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Axis Capital from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research cut Axis Capital from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $122.00 price target on Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axis Capital

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Axis Capital by 80.8% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 396 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Axis Capital in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Axis Capital by 1,062.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 558 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

NYSE:AXS opened at $96.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64. Axis Capital has a 52-week low of $88.07 and a 52-week high of $119.99. The firm has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.83, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.49. The business's fifty day moving average is $103.52 and its 200 day moving average is $102.43.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.74 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.29 EPS. Research analysts predict that Axis Capital will post 12.38 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.50%.

Axis Capital Company Profile

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited NYSE: AXS is a Bermuda-based specialty insurance and reinsurance company. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides coverage and risk-management solutions for businesses, institutions and other insurance companies.

Its insurance operations offer products across property, casualty, professional liability, cyber, marine, aviation, accident and health, and other specialty lines. Its reinsurance business assumes risks from primary insurers through property, casualty and specialty reinsurance arrangements.

Founded in 2001, AXIS serves clients and distribution partners in major insurance markets across North America, Bermuda, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international regions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.