Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX) Stake Reduced by Nuveen Asset Management LLC

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX - Free Report) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 618,545 shares of the company's stock after selling 96,301 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 1.08% of Axos Financial worth $43,205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Axos Financial by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 142,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,974,000 after buying an additional 35,087 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Axos Financial by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 337,918 shares of the company's stock worth $23,604,000 after buying an additional 17,201 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Axos Financial by 1,700.0% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 900 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 850 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Axos Financial by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,306 shares of the company's stock worth $1,139,000 after buying an additional 3,588 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Axos Financial by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 106,400 shares of the company's stock worth $7,432,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Axos Financial in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Axos Financial from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Axos Financial in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Axos Financial in a report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Axos Financial from $88.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.71.

Axos Financial Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of AX traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $69.70. The company had a trading volume of 324,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 519,990. The company's 50 day moving average price is $64.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.93. The stock has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.37 and a beta of 1.25. Axos Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.10 and a 52 week high of $88.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Axos Financial (NYSE:AX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.07. Axos Financial had a return on equity of 18.67% and a net margin of 22.10%. The business had revenue of $432.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $305.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Axos Financial, Inc. will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Axos Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, May 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Paul Grinberg sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total transaction of $2,042,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 113,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,714,256.55. This represents a 20.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sara Wardell-Smith acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $64.73 per share, with a total value of $194,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $663,482.50. The trade was a 41.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 5.07% of the company's stock.

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.