AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Price Target Raised to $80.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) had its target price upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the insurance provider's stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on AXS. UBS Group lifted their target price on AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered AXIS Capital from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AXIS Capital currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $67.67.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:AXS traded up $0.98 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $64.60. The company had a trading volume of 500,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 635,836. The firm has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The business's fifty day moving average is $62.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.05. AXIS Capital has a fifty-two week low of $51.61 and a fifty-two week high of $65.86.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.25) by $4.19. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 6.67%. As a group, research analysts expect that AXIS Capital will post 10.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.78%.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Stanley A. Galanski purchased 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $58.45 per share, with a total value of $409,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $570,647.35. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Global Investments lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 173.9% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 81,197 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,577,000 after buying an additional 51,557 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 721.0% in the 3rd quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 58,670 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,307,000 after purchasing an additional 51,524 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 323,408 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $18,230,000 after purchasing an additional 12,019 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter worth $5,767,000. Finally, Ziegler Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 52.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC now owns 163,959 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $9,243,000 after purchasing an additional 56,476 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.