Axos Financial, Inc (NYSE:AX) Shares Sold by Vestcor Inc

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc significantly reduced its holdings in Axos Financial by 78.1% during Q1, owning only 3,613 shares valued at $233,000 after selling 12,865 shares.
• Several institutional investors, including Geode Capital Management and Northern Trust Corp, increased their positions in Axos Financial, indicating continued interest in the stock among major players.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Axos Financial, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $90.86, following positive earnings reports.

Vestcor Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Axos Financial, Inc (NYSE:AX - Free Report) by 78.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,613 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,865 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Axos Financial were worth $233,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Axos Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $16,464,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Axos Financial by 255.3% during the fourth quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 199,662 shares of the company's stock worth $13,946,000 after purchasing an additional 143,474 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Axos Financial by 45.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 410,590 shares of the company's stock worth $28,680,000 after purchasing an additional 128,932 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 117,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 111,080 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Axos Financial from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Axos Financial in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of Axos Financial in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Axos Financial from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Axos Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $90.86.

Insider Activity at Axos Financial

In related news, EVP Andrew J. Micheletti sold 13,960 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.38, for a total value of $1,191,904.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 67,460 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,759,734.80. This represents a 17.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.07% of the company's stock.

Axos Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:AX traded up $0.88 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $85.00. The stock had a trading volume of 103,747 shares, compared to its average volume of 392,219. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.69. Axos Financial, Inc has a 12-month low of $54.46 and a 12-month high of $88.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.37 and a beta of 1.32.

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 net margin of 22.24% and a return on equity of 17.11%. The firm had revenue of $321.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $311.73 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. Axos Financial's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Axos Financial, Inc will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Axos Financial declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, May 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.