Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Buys 15,399 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 153.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,419 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,399 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Axis Capital were worth $2,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 900 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $88,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Axis Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Axis Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. UBS Group raised their price target on Axis Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $108.25.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXS stock traded up $1.21 during trading on Thursday, hitting $97.13. The company had a trading volume of 646,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 627,705. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.81. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $101.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.93. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $70.16 and a one year high of $107.19.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.53. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 14.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.07 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.46%.

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.