Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Shares Purchased by Trexquant Investment LP

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in Axis Capital by 139.1% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 53,599 shares.
• Axis Capital reported $3.29 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and the company's revenue rose 12.6% year-over-year.
• Analysts have mixed views on Axis Capital, with some upgrading price targets while others have dropped ratings from "buy" to "hold," giving it a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Trexquant Investment LP boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 139.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 92,125 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 53,599 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.12% of Axis Capital worth $9,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Axis Capital during the first quarter worth $33,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Axis Capital by 1,542.9% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 575 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Axis Capital by 36.9% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,184 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Axis Capital by 34.3% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,628 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Axis Capital by 14.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 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 cut shares of Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $119.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.43.

Axis Capital Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE AXS traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $99.17. 382,668 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 554,709. The business's 50 day moving average is $97.38 and its 200-day moving average is $97.66. 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 capitalization of $7.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.54, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. Axis Capital's revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Axis Capital

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total value of $345,345.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 47,295 shares in the company, valued at $4,666,597.65. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total value of $420,038.85. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 90 days, insiders sold 12,205 shares of company stock worth $1,188,048. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.