Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 40,371 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its ownership of Axis Capital by 20% in Q1, selling 40,371 shares and holding 161,160 shares worth approximately $16.1 million.
• Axis Capital has received a mix of analyst ratings, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price averaging $110.86.
• The company recently reported earnings exceeding estimates, with $3.29 EPS for the last quarter, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share.

Bank of Nova Scotia lessened its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 20.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 161,160 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 40,371 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.20% of Axis Capital worth $16,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 2.2% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 14.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 133,675 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $11,846,000 after buying an additional 4,303 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Axis Capital by 2.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 314,372 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,513,000 after acquiring an additional 8,443 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the 4th quarter worth about $319,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Axis Capital Price Performance

NYSE AXS traded up $0.69 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $95.97. 830,546 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 713,941. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 52-week low of $71.80 and a 52-week high of $107.19. The company has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a PE ratio of 9.23, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.83. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $99.74 and its 200-day moving average is $96.65.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AXS shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $119.00 target price (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Monday. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.