AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Given New $104.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) had its target price upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $100.00 to $104.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the insurance provider's stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $120.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.75.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXS stock traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $101.23. The stock had a trading volume of 283,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 596,496. The company has a market cap of $7.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. AXIS Capital has a 12-month low of $68.02 and a 12-month high of $101.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.30.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.07 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital's payout ratio is currently 17.46%.

Insider Activity

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,959.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at $224,786,435.50. This represents a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AXS. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 53.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 48,964 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,898,000 after purchasing an additional 17,082 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in AXIS Capital in the third quarter worth about $1,004,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 48.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 371,557 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $30,070,000 after acquiring an additional 121,437 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,463 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.