LPL Financial LLC Increases Stake in AXOS FINANCIAL, INC $AX

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in AXOS FINANCIAL by 16.4% during the first quarter, owning 26,198 shares valued at approximately $1.69 million.
• AXOS FINANCIAL's recent quarterly earnings report exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $1.94 and revenue of $321.45 million, marking a year-over-year increase of 10.5%.
• The company has initiated a stock buyback plan to repurchase $100 million worth of shares, indicating confidence in its valuation.

LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of AXOS FINANCIAL, INC (NYSE:AX - Free Report) by 16.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,198 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,695 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in AXOS FINANCIAL were worth $1,690,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in AXOS FINANCIAL by 8,878.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 118,330 shares of the company's stock worth $7,635,000 after acquiring an additional 117,012 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in AXOS FINANCIAL by 1,619.2% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 117,940 shares of the company's stock worth $8,269,000 after acquiring an additional 111,080 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in AXOS FINANCIAL by 143.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 139,114 shares of the company's stock worth $9,717,000 after acquiring an additional 81,861 shares in the last quarter. Ategra Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in AXOS FINANCIAL by 47.9% during the fourth quarter. Ategra Capital Management LLC now owns 214,280 shares of the company's stock worth $14,967,000 after acquiring an additional 69,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Redwood Investments LLC boosted its stake in AXOS FINANCIAL by 192.2% during the fourth quarter. Redwood Investments LLC now owns 90,712 shares of the company's stock worth $6,336,000 after acquiring an additional 59,667 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

AXOS FINANCIAL Stock Performance

Shares of AX traded up $1.35 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $92.50. 279,748 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 377,325. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.32. AXOS FINANCIAL, INC has a 1 year low of $54.46 and a 1 year high of $92.72. The stock has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 1.32.

AXOS FINANCIAL (NYSE:AX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.12. AXOS FINANCIAL had a net margin of 22.24% and a return on equity of 17.11%. The firm had revenue of $321.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $311.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that AXOS FINANCIAL, INC will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current year.

AXOS FINANCIAL declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXOS FINANCIAL

In other news, EVP Andrew J. Micheletti sold 13,960 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.38, for a total transaction 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 $5,759,734.80. The trade was a 17.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 5.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on AX. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of AXOS FINANCIAL from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 price objective (up previously from $90.00) on shares of AXOS FINANCIAL in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of AXOS FINANCIAL from $84.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of AXOS FINANCIAL in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of AXOS FINANCIAL from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.86.

AXOS FINANCIAL 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.