Wells Fargo & Company Boosts AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Price Target to $63.00

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its price target upped by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $63.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 10.75% from the company’s current price.

AXS has been the subject of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.33.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 0.9 %

AXIS Capital stock traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $70.59. The stock had a trading volume of 386,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 645,084. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.80. AXIS Capital has a 1-year low of $51.61 and a 1-year high of $70.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.11% and a net margin of 10.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.33 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that AXIS Capital will post 10.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director W Marston Becker acquired 3,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $66.58 per share, for a total transaction of $201,404.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 21,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,452,842.18. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $1,785,000. Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 1,132.7% during the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 95,474 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,286,000 after acquiring an additional 87,729 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,503,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 721.0% in the 3rd quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 58,670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,307,000 after purchasing an additional 51,524 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in AXIS Capital by 3.9% during the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 323,408 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $18,230,000 after buying an additional 12,019 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.