Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS is Dark Forest Capital Management LP's 5th Largest Position

Key Points

• Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited by 571.0%, owning 116,239 shares after acquiring an additional 98,915 shares in the first quarter.
• Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares for approximately $345,345, marking a 6.89% decrease in his holdings, while insider sales across the last ninety days totalled 12,205 shares worth $1,188,048.
• Axis Capital reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for Q2, exceeding estimates of $2.88, and has a consensus target price of $111.43 as rated by multiple Wall Street analysts.

Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 571.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,239 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 98,915 shares during the quarter. Axis Capital makes up approximately 0.5% of Dark Forest Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Dark Forest Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.15% of Axis Capital worth $11,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AXS. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 95.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,852,398 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $185,685,000 after buying an additional 903,107 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the first quarter worth about $26,499,000. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $19,443,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 11,415.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 185,745 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $18,619,000 after buying an additional 184,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 463,794 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $41,101,000 after buying an additional 151,781 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Axis Capital news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total transaction of $420,038.85. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,269 shares in the company, valued at $1,587,366.33. This trade represents a 20.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total transaction of $345,345.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 47,295 shares in the company, valued at $4,666,597.65. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,205 shares of company stock worth $1,188,048 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Axis Capital Price Performance

NYSE AXS traded down $1.85 on Friday, reaching $97.44. 612,493 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 528,259. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $74.68 and a 12 month high of $107.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.70. The stock has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a PE ratio of 9.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.41. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.