AXIS Capital Holdings Limited to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.44 (NYSE:AXS)

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, May 16th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.44 per share by the insurance provider on Thursday, July 17th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th.

AXIS Capital has raised its dividend by an average of 1.4% annually over the last three years. AXIS Capital has a dividend payout ratio of 14.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect AXIS Capital to earn $12.33 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 14.3%.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $102.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.06 billion, a PE ratio of 8.30, 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 1 year low of $68.02 and a 1 year high of $102.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $96.27 and its 200-day moving average is $92.00.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.53. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.07 EPS. AXIS Capital’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that AXIS Capital will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of AXIS Capital

An institutional investor recently raised its position in AXIS Capital stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 6.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 205,553 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,680 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.26% of AXIS Capital worth $20,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AXS shares. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.75.

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.