Mizuho Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) Stock

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at Mizuho from $137.00 to $142.00 in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Mizuho’s target price indicates a potential upside of 25.52% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Axis Capital from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America dropped their target price on Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings raised Axis Capital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Axis Capital from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.70.

Axis Capital Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $113.13 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.53. The company has a market cap of $8.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Axis Capital has a 12-month low of $88.07 and a 12-month high of $115.91.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.09. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Axis Capital will post 13.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total value of $250,869.98. Following the sale, the director owned 46,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,573,985.43. This trade represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Axis Capital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AXS. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Axis Capital by 11.3% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 26,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,869,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,710,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $173,504,000 after acquiring an additional 21,001 shares in the last quarter. Bull Harbor Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the first quarter valued at about $910,000. Amundi raised its holdings in Axis Capital by 88.5% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 11,647 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 5,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Axis Capital by 7.5% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,289 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.