Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 21,847 Shares of Axos Financial, Inc $AX

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in AXOS FINANCIAL by 123.4%, acquiring 21,847 shares to own a total of 39,552 shares valued at approximately $2.55 million.
• A significant number of institutional investors have modified their positions in AXOS FINANCIAL, with institutional ownership at 83.79% of the company’s stock.
• AXOS FINANCIAL reported better-than-expected earnings with $1.94 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates, and has launched a $100 million stock repurchase program as a sign of confidence in its valuation.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Axos Financial, Inc (NYSE:AX - Free Report) by 123.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,552 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 21,847 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Axos Financial worth $2,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axos Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Axos Financial by 1,700.0% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 900 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Axos Financial by 39.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Axos Financial by 37.2% during the first quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,649 shares of the company's stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgefront Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axos Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $201,000. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Axos Financial in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Axos Financial from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson raised 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. Wall Street Zen raised Axos Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of Axos Financial in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axos Financial

In other news, EVP Andrew J. Micheletti sold 13,960 shares of Axos Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.38, for a total transaction of $1,191,904.80. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Axos Financial Stock Performance

Shares of AX stock traded down $0.94 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $91.38. 280,392 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 388,950. Axos Financial, Inc has a 12-month low of $54.46 and a 12-month high of $92.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $83.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.32.

Axos Financial (NYSE:AX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $321.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $311.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Axos Financial, Inc will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axos Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, May 12th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are 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.