AlphaQuest LLC Grows Position in Axos Financial, Inc $AX

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly increased its stake in AXOS FINANCIAL, raising it by 261.8% during the first quarter, now holding 14,367 shares valued at approximately $927,000.
• AXOS FINANCIAL reported a 10.5% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, earning $1.94 EPS which surpassed the consensus estimate by $0.12.
• The company announced a $100 million stock buyback program, indicating management's belief that its shares are currently undervalued.

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in Axos Financial, Inc (NYSE:AX - Free Report) by 261.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,367 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,396 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Axos Financial were worth $927,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Axos Financial by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,151,229 shares of the company's stock valued at $138,797,000 after acquiring an additional 276,450 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Axos Financial by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 742,837 shares of the company's stock worth $51,887,000 after buying an additional 33,207 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Axos Financial by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 681,878 shares of the company's stock worth $43,994,000 after buying an additional 4,332 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Axos Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,240,000. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC increased its stake in Axos Financial by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 533,586 shares of the company's stock worth $34,427,000 after purchasing an additional 54,466 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Axos Financial Stock Performance

AX traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $91.65. 30,256 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 386,765. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 1.32. The company's 50-day moving average is $84.38 and its 200 day moving average is $72.46. Axos Financial, Inc has a 52 week low of $54.46 and a 52 week high of $92.99.

Axos Financial (NYSE:AX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $321.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $311.73 million. Axos Financial had a net margin of 22.24% and a return on equity of 17.11%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Axos Financial, Inc will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Axos Financial declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, May 12th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of Axos Financial in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Axos Financial from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Axos Financial in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Axos Financial from $84.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Axos Financial from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Andrew J. Micheletti sold 13,960 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.38, for a total transaction of $1,191,904.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 67,460 shares in the company, valued at $5,759,734.80. This represents a 17.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 5.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Axos Financial Profile

Axos Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides consumer and business banking products in the United States. It operates through two segments, Banking Business and Securities Business. The company offers deposits products, including consumer and business checking, demand, savings, time deposit, money market, zero balance, and insured cash sweep accounts.