Axos Financial, Inc $AX Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its stake in Axos Financial by 4.9% in Q1, buying 16,627 additional shares and bringing its total to 353,951 shares worth about $30.1 million.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted holdings, and institutions now own 83.79% of Axos Financial, while corporate insiders own 4.85%.
• Axos Financial reported Q1 EPS of $1.90, below analyst estimates of $2.13, even though revenue came in above expectations; analysts still rate the stock a consensus Buy with a target price of $110.33.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Axos Financial, Inc (NYSE:AX - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 353,951 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,627 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.62% of Axos Financial worth $30,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AX. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Axos Financial by 714.0% during the fourth quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,725 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,786,000 after buying an additional 18,179 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Axos Financial by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,775,539 shares of the company's stock worth $154,687,000 after buying an additional 62,269 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its position in Axos Financial by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 308,935 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,618,000 after acquiring an additional 33,854 shares during the period. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. increased its position in Axos Financial by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 255,859 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,045,000 after acquiring an additional 18,900 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Axos Financial by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 330,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,010,000 after acquiring an additional 50,902 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axos Financial

In other news, Director Roque A. Santi sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total value of $43,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,646 shares in the company, valued at $671,089.42. This represents a 6.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Michael James Watson sold 1,653 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.77, for a total value of $138,471.81. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at $384,671.84. This represents a 26.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 4.85% of the company's stock.

Axos Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AX opened at $99.44 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Axos Financial, Inc has a 12 month low of $74.89 and a 12 month high of $102.18. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $90.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.28.

Axos Financial (NYSE:AX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.23). Axos Financial had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The firm had revenue of $392.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $372.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Axos Financial, Inc will post 8.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Axos Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Axos Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Axos Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of Axos Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $100.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.33.

About Axos Financial

Axos Financial, Inc NYSE: AX is a diversified online banking and financial services holding company headquartered in San Diego, California. The firm traces its origins to 1999 with the launch of Bank of Internet USA and rebranded as Axos Financial in December 2018 to reflect an expanded suite of digital offerings. Axos Financial operates through its wholly owned subsidiary, Axos Bank, providing a technology-driven banking platform that serves both retail and commercial clients across the United States.

Through its digital banking platform, Axos Financial delivers a range of deposit products, including checking and savings accounts, money market and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as individual retirement accounts.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.