Fred Alger Management LLC Acquires Shares of 7,070 Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX)

Fred Alger Management LLC bought a new position in Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,070 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $494,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AX. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Axos Financial during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Axos Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $52,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Axos Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Axos Financial by 238.6% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,097 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Axos Financial Stock Performance

Axos Financial stock traded down $0.84 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $72.75. 297,805 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 520,273. Axos Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.10 and a twelve month high of $88.46. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $63.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.78 and a beta of 1.25.

Axos Financial (NYSE:AX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.07. Axos Financial had a return on equity of 18.67% and a net margin of 22.10%. The firm had revenue of $432.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $305.04 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Axos Financial, Inc. will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axos Financial declared that its board has approved a stock 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Axos Financial

In other news, Director Sara Wardell-Smith purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $64.73 per share, with a total value of $194,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $663,482.50. The trade was a 41.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul Grinberg sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total value of $2,042,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 113,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,714,256.55. The trade was a 20.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AX shares. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $72.00 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Axos Financial in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Axos Financial in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Axos Financial from $84.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Axos Financial from $88.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Axos Financial from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.50.

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.