Ieq Capital LLC Purchases 16,873 Shares of Axos Financial, Inc $AX

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Axos Financial by 286.3% in Q1, owning 22,767 shares valued at approximately $1.47 million.
• A number of institutional investors, including American Century Companies and Northern Trust Corp, have also raised their stakes in Axos Financial, demonstrating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Axos Financial reported Q2 earnings of $1.94 per share, surpassing analyst expectations, and announced a $100 million share buyback plan, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in Axos Financial, Inc (NYSE:AX - Free Report) by 286.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,767 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,873 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Axos Financial were worth $1,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Axos Financial by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,151,229 shares of the company's stock worth $138,797,000 after purchasing an additional 276,450 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Axos Financial by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 742,837 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,887,000 after buying an additional 33,207 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Axos Financial by 0.6% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 681,878 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,994,000 after buying an additional 4,332 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Axos Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $35,240,000. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Axos Financial by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 533,586 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,427,000 after purchasing an additional 54,466 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Axos Financial Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:AX traded down $1.36 during trading on Friday, reaching $90.78. 304,034 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 311,612. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $86.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.33. Axos Financial, Inc has a 1-year low of $54.46 and a 1-year high of $93.84. The firm has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

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

Axos Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, May 12th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AX shares. DA Davidson raised their price target on Axos Financial from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 target price (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Axos Financial in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Axos Financial from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Axos Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Axos Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $90.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axos Financial

In other Axos Financial news, EVP Andrew J. Micheletti sold 13,960 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 67,460 shares in the company, valued at $5,759,734.80. This represents a 17.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Candace L. Thiele sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.14, for a total value of $63,098.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,073.22. This trade represents a 96.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.