Ameriprise Financial Inc. Buys 4,332 Shares of Axos Financial, Inc $AX

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Axos Financial by 0.6%, owning 1.21% of the company worth approximately $44 million after purchasing additional shares in Q1.
• Axos Financial reported quarterly earnings of $1.94 per share, surpassing estimates, with revenue increasing 10.5% year-over-year to $321.45 million.
• The company announced a $100 million share buyback plan, indicating confidence in the stock's value, while institutional investors now hold about 83.79% of the company's shares.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Axos Financial, Inc (NYSE:AX - Free Report) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 681,878 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,332 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 1.21% of Axos Financial worth $43,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AX. Voss Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Axos Financial in the first quarter valued at about $13,401,000. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Axos Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Algert Global LLC raised its position in shares of Axos Financial by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 221,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,306,000 after acquiring an additional 48,096 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Axos Financial by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,205 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Axos Financial by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,151,229 shares of the company's stock valued at $138,797,000 after purchasing an additional 276,450 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Axos Financial from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Axos Financial in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Axos Financial from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Axos Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 price target (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Axos Financial in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axos Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $90.86.

Axos Financial Stock Performance

AX traded down $1.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $89.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 118,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 386,232. Axos Financial, Inc has a 52 week low of $54.46 and a 52 week high of $92.99. The company's 50-day moving average is $85.10 and its 200-day moving average is $72.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 1.32.

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

Axos Financial announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, May 12th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Andrew J. Micheletti sold 13,960 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.38, for a total value of $1,191,904.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 67,460 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,759,734.80. This trade represents a 17.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 5.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Axos Financial Company 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.