GSA Capital Partners LLP Purchases 8,506 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 208.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,577 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,506 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP's holdings in Axis Capital were worth $1,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 1,542.9% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 575 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 900 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 36.9% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,184 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AXS. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target 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 boosted their price objective on Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Axis Capital has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.43.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS traded up $1.01 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $94.34. 202,290 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 711,161. 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $100.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.65. The company has a market cap of $7.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.07, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.83. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $70.16 and a 12-month high of $107.19.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.41. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.92%.

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.