Merit Financial Group LLC Has $2.34 Million Stock Holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 33.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,850 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,459 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $2,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the third quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the third quarter worth approximately $67,000. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AXS. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Axis Capital from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Axis Capital from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.80.

Axis Capital Stock Down 0.3%

Axis Capital stock opened at $101.74 on Tuesday. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $88.07 and a fifty-two week high of $110.34. The stock has a market cap of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of 8.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.15. 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) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Axis Capital’s payout ratio is 14.21%.

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.