VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Purchases Shares of 39,830 Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems acquired 39,830 shares of Axis Capital worth approximately $4.28 million, giving it a 0.05% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 93.44% of the insurer.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Axis Capital receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $121.23.
• Axis Capital shares opened at $98.36, below the consensus target, while the company’s latest quarterly EPS of $2.84 missed estimates of $3.25 despite revenue rising 7.4% year over year to $1.75 billion.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 39,830 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,279,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned about 0.05% of Axis Capital as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Entropy Technologies LP grew its holdings in Axis Capital by 31.4% during the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 53,905 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,467,000 after acquiring an additional 12,896 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 258.4% in the 4th quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 37,672 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,034,000 after purchasing an additional 27,160 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 1,102.3% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 65,575 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,636,000 after buying an additional 60,121 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Axis Capital by 25.7% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 92,474 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $9,378,000 after acquiring an additional 18,934 shares during the period. Finally, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension acquired a new position in Axis Capital during the fourth quarter worth $25,137,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Axis Capital from $131.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Atlantic Securities set a $122.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Capital One Financial set a $108.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Axis Capital from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Axis Capital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $121.23.

Axis Capital Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE AXS opened at $98.36 on Thursday. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 52 week low of $88.07 and a 52 week high of $119.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $106.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.78. The firm has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a PE ratio of 6.99, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.49.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.25 by ($0.41). Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.29 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current year.

About Axis Capital

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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