Renaissance Group LLC Has $6.39 Million Holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Renaissance Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 23.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,569 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 18,350 shares during the period. Renaissance Group LLC owned about 0.08% of Axis Capital worth $6,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 21.6% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 658 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co increased its position in shares of Axis Capital by 94.0% during the second quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 0.6% during the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 25,065 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,513,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Axis Capital by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $825,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intrust Bank NA increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 6,042 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Price Performance

NYSE:AXS opened at $100.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.78 billion, a PE ratio of 8.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.73. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $83.90 and a 1-year high of $107.19. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.53. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The firm had revenue of $184.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.71 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.55%.

Insider Activity at Axis Capital

In related news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total transaction of $345,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 47,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,666,597.65. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Axis Capital from $125.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Axis Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.00.

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.