LSV Asset Management Buys 35,024 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited by 5.3%, now owning 693,424 shares valued at approximately $69.5 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Axis Capital, with four maintaining a "hold" rating and six assigning a "buy" rating, resulting in a consensus price target of $110.86.
• Axis Capital reported earnings per share of $3.29 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, although its revenue of $1.63 billion was slightly below estimates.

LSV Asset Management raised its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 693,424 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 35,024 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned about 0.88% of Axis Capital worth $69,509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXS. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 62,951 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,579,000 after buying an additional 916 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 133,675 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $11,846,000 after buying an additional 4,303 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 11,406 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,011,000 after buying an additional 1,056 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 77.0% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 38,526 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,414,000 after buying an additional 16,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in Axis Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,775,000. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on AXS shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $110.86.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXS opened at $93.20 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.96, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.83. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $70.16 and a 1-year high of $107.19. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $100.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Axis Capital's payout ratio is presently 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.

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