Gotham Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Gotham Asset Management LLC has significantly increased its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited by 160.1%, now owning 180,960 shares valued at approximately $18.14 million.
• Axis Capital reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $2.88, with revenues increasing by 12.6% year-over-year.
• The company has received mixed analyst ratings, with six maintaining a "buy" rating and three rating it as a "hold," while the average target price is set at $111.43.

Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 160.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 180,960 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 111,396 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Axis Capital worth $18,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Axis Capital in the first quarter worth about $33,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Axis Capital by 1,542.9% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 575 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in Axis Capital by 36.9% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,184 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Axis Capital by 34.3% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,628 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Axis Capital by 14.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. UBS Group reissued 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Axis Capital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.43.

Axis Capital Trading Up 0.0%

Axis Capital stock traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $97.02. The company had a trading volume of 233,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 694,574. The firm has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $74.68 and a 1 year high of $107.19. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $97.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.81.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Axis Capital

In related 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 transaction of $420,038.85. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,269 shares of the company's stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of Axis Capital 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 directly owned 47,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 a total of 12,205 shares of company stock worth $1,188,048 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.