Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Analyst Says

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its price objective raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $126.00 to $131.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 14.54% from the company’s previous close.

AXS has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Axis Capital from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Axis Capital from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho set a $137.00 price target on Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.60.

Axis Capital Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:AXS opened at $114.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $101.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.52, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. Axis Capital has a 1 year low of $88.07 and a 1 year high of $115.91.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Axis Capital will post 13.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Axis Capital

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total transaction of $250,869.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 46,347 shares in the company, valued at $4,573,985.43. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 12.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 63,457 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,361,000 after purchasing an additional 7,023 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Axis Capital by 6.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 205,553 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,605,000 after purchasing an additional 12,680 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Axis Capital by 86.2% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 47,277 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,739,000 after purchasing an additional 21,892 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in Axis Capital by 42.1% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 10,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after purchasing an additional 3,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Axis Capital by 33.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

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.