Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Shares Acquired by Dark Forest Capital Management LP

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 increased its holdings in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 571.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,239 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 98,915 shares during the quarter. Axis Capital accounts for approximately 0.5% of Dark Forest Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Dark Forest Capital Management LP owned 0.15% of Axis Capital worth $11,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 1,542.9% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 575 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 36.9% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,184 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 34.3% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,628 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 14.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total value of $420,038.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,587,366.33. The trade was a 20.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the business's 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,666,597.65. This represents a 6.89% 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 valued at $1,188,048. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Axis Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXS traded down $1.85 during trading on Friday, reaching $97.44. 612,493 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 519,054. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $74.68 and a 12 month high of $107.19. The firm has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a PE ratio of 9.37, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $97.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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