Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Has $8.35 Million Stake in Axos Financial, Inc $AX

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in AXOS FINANCIAL by 11.3% during Q1, holding 129,333 shares worth approximately $8.35 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Nuveen LLC and GAMMA Investing LLC, have also significantly increased their investments in AXOS FINANCIAL, highlighting strong institutional interest in the stock.
• AXOS FINANCIAL reported earnings of $1.94 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations and showing a 10.5% year-over-year increase in revenue.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in Axos Financial, Inc (NYSE:AX - Free Report) by 11.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 129,333 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,127 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.23% of Axos Financial worth $8,345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Axos Financial by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 742,837 shares of the company's stock worth $51,887,000 after purchasing an additional 33,207 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Axos Financial by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 677,546 shares of the company's stock worth $47,330,000 after purchasing an additional 54,238 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Axos Financial during the first quarter worth $35,240,000. Emerald Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Axos Financial by 11.4% during the first quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 533,586 shares of the company's stock worth $34,427,000 after purchasing an additional 54,466 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Axos Financial by 18.2% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 504,815 shares of the company's stock worth $31,191,000 after purchasing an additional 77,730 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Axos Financial

In other news, EVP Andrew J. Micheletti sold 13,960 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 67,460 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,759,734.80. This represents a 17.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Axos Financial from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of Axos Financial in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price 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. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Axos Financial from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Axos Financial in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Axos Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $90.86.

Axos Financial Stock Performance

Shares of AX stock traded down $0.3150 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $86.5450. The stock had a trading volume of 73,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 388,980. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $81.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Axos Financial, Inc has a one year low of $54.46 and a one year high of $89.49. The firm has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 1.32.

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

Axos Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, May 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Axos Financial

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.