Axos Financial, Inc (NYSE:AX) Stock Holdings Lessened by TCW Group Inc.

Key Points

• TCW Group Inc. reduced its stake in Axos Financial by 25.1% in the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 92,020 shares worth approximately $5.94 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in Axos Financial, with NewEdge Advisors LLC raising its stake by 1,700% during the fourth quarter.
• Analyst ratings for Axos Financial are mixed, with some firms raising their price targets while others, like Wall Street Zen, downgraded the stock from a "hold" to a "sell" rating.

TCW Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Axos Financial, Inc (NYSE:AX - Free Report) by 25.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 92,020 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,780 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. owned 0.16% of Axos Financial worth $5,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Axos Financial by 1.1% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 17,143 shares of the company's stock worth $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Axos Financial by 1.6% in the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 13,386 shares of the company's stock worth $864,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Axos Financial by 1.4% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 15,844 shares of the company's stock worth $1,022,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Axos Financial by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 7,310 shares of the company's stock worth $511,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Axos Financial by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,717 shares of the company's stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Axos Financial Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE AX traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $86.49. 356,135 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 392,107. Axos Financial, Inc has a 12 month low of $54.46 and a 12 month high of $88.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $76.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.97.

Axos Financial (NYSE:AX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.12. Axos Financial had a net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 17.58%. The firm had revenue of $321.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.73 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Axos Financial, Inc will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Axos Financial declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, May 12th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Axos Financial news, Director Paul Grinberg sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total transaction of $2,042,700.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 113,295 shares in the company, valued at $7,714,256.55. This represents a 20.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 5.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed 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 for the company. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Axos Financial from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of Axos Financial in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Axos Financial from $84.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Axos Financial from $88.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.57.

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.