Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Has Lowered Expectations for Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) Stock Price

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut its price target on Axis Capital to $126 (from $130) while retaining an "outperform" rating, implying roughly a 24% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $123.60; the analyst mix includes 2 Strong Buy, 7 Buy and 3 Hold ratings.
• Axis Capital recently beat quarterly estimates (EPS $3.25 vs. $2.97; revenue $1.73B vs. $1.33B), trades around $101.45 with a PE near 8.2, and shows high institutional ownership (~93%).

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $130.00 to $126.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the insurance provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective would indicate a potential upside of 24.20% from the stock's current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $122.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Axis Capital from $124.00 to $121.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Axis Capital from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Axis Capital from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Axis Capital from $119.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $123.60.

Axis Capital Trading Down 0.0%

AXS stock traded down $0.01 on Tuesday, reaching $101.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 134,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 622,711. The firm has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a PE ratio of 8.19, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.74. Axis Capital has a 12-month low of $86.86 and a 12-month high of $110.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.28. Axis Capital had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 18.72%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Axis Capital will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,592,270 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $491,786,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,579 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Axis Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $103,001,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in Axis Capital in the third quarter worth about $56,705,000. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Axis Capital by 47.7% in the second quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC now owns 1,817,204 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $188,662,000 after buying an additional 586,576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 147.0% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 745,591 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $79,845,000 after buying an additional 443,761 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

Axis Capital Company Profile

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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