Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $124.4545.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Axis Capital from $119.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Atlantic Securities set a $122.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Axis Capital news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 46,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,573,985.43. The trade was a 5.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Axis Capital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,592,270 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $491,786,000 after buying an additional 1,083,579 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Axis Capital by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,682,238 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $373,412,000 after buying an additional 299,573 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 1.2% during 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. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,631,198 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $170,069,000 after acquiring an additional 15,755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Axis Capital by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,387,004 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $148,565,000 after acquiring an additional 10,246 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS opened at $113.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $103.24 and a 200-day moving average of $102.60. The company has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a PE ratio of 8.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.49. Axis Capital has a one year low of $88.07 and a one 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.09. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 16.00%.The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Axis Capital will post 13.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.11%.

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.