Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) Insider Sells $211,200.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Axis Capital insider Daniel Draper sold 2,200 shares at an average price of $96.00, totaling $211,200, reducing his stake by 9.66%.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $3.29, exceeding expectations, despite revenue of $1.63 billion falling short of estimates.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Axis Capital, with notable upgrades including a price target increase from Wells Fargo, now set at $105.00.

Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) insider Daniel J. Draper sold 2,200 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total transaction of $211,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,574 shares in the company, valued at $1,975,104. This represents a 9.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Axis Capital stock traded up $0.2550 during trading on Friday, reaching $99.2150. The company had a trading volume of 504,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 718,542. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $98.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.26. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $74.68 and a 1-year high of $107.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a PE ratio of 9.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.41. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 94.0% during the 2nd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 293 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 1,542.9% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 575 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AXS. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $119.00 price objective (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Monday, August 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.43.

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.