Zacks Research Expects Increased Earnings for Axis Capital

Key Points

• Zacks Research has raised its earnings forecast for Axis Capital, predicting $11.84 per share for FY2025, up from $11.50, surpassing the current consensus estimate of $11.19 per share.
• Axis Capital reported strong quarterly earnings of $3.29 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.41, although its revenue fell short of estimates at $1.63 billion.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%, with a current payout ratio of 16.92%.

Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research lifted their FY2025 earnings estimates for Axis Capital in a report issued on Tuesday, August 12th. Zacks Research analyst T. De now anticipates that the insurance provider will earn $11.84 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $11.50. The consensus estimate for Axis Capital's current full-year earnings is $11.19 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Axis Capital's Q4 2025 earnings at $2.94 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $3.29 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.03 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $12.32 EPS.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The company's revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on AXS. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Axis Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $119.00 target price (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.43.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXS traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $97.97. The stock had a trading volume of 7,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 708,397. The firm has a market cap of $7.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.41, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.83. Axis Capital has a 12 month low of $74.05 and a 12 month high of $107.19. The business has a fifty day moving average of $99.01 and a 200 day moving average of $96.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Institutional Trading of Axis Capital

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Axis Capital by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 658 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 0.5% in the second quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 26,541 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,755,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 94.0% in the second quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 293 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 2.2% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $671,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 0.6% in the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 25,065 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,513,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Axis Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.92%.

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.

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