Alliancebernstein L.P. Increases Stock Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited by 12.1%, owning 925,265 shares valued at approximately $92.75 million after acquiring an additional 99,916 shares in the first quarter.
• Axis Capital's recent earnings report showed an earnings per share of $3.29, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.88, while its revenue increased by 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year.
• Equities analysts maintain an average rating of "Moderate Buy" for Axis Capital, with a consensus target price of $111.43.

Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 12.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 925,265 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 99,916 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 1.18% of Axis Capital worth $92,749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Axis Capital by 22.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,290,411 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $328,580,000 after buying an additional 600,901 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its stake in Axis Capital by 571.0% in the first quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 116,239 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $11,652,000 after buying an additional 98,915 shares in the last quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. bought a new position in Axis Capital in the first quarter worth about $221,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in Axis Capital by 236.6% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 9,260 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 6,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in Axis Capital in the first quarter worth about $2,362,000. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total value of $345,345.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 47,295 shares in the company, valued at $4,666,597.65. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total transaction of $420,038.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,587,366.33. This trade represents a 20.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,205 shares of company stock worth $1,188,048. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

AXS stock traded down $1.07 on Tuesday, hitting $97.02. The company had a trading volume of 546,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 697,548. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $74.68 and a 12-month high of $107.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $97.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.82. The stock has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.77.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The company's revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AXS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $119.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.43.

Axis Capital Company Profile

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.