Federated Hermes Inc. Grows Stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited by 6.1% in Q1, owning 55,401 shares worth approximately $5.55 million.
• Axis Capital reported strong earnings, with an EPS of $3.29 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, though revenue fell slightly short at $1.63 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.9% with a payout ratio of 16.92%.

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 55,401 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,169 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.07% of Axis Capital worth $5,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Axis Capital by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,144,247 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $367,265,000 after purchasing an additional 17,764 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,444,128 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $305,219,000 after acquiring an additional 12,571 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,510 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $238,344,000 after purchasing an additional 134,157 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,042,925 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $181,045,000 after buying an additional 20,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Axis Capital by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,749,627 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $155,052,000 after acquiring an additional 111,187 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $95.74. The company had a trading volume of 414,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 713,387. The stock has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a PE ratio of 9.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.83. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $71.80 and a 1-year high of $107.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $99.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.65.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Axis Capital's payout ratio is presently 16.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Axis Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $119.00 price objective (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital currently 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.