VELA Investment Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

VELA Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 12.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 49,970 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,512 shares during the period. Axis Capital makes up 1.2% of VELA Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. VELA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $4,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Axis Capital by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,716,201 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $383,698,000 after purchasing an additional 425,790 shares during the period. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 47.7% in the 2nd quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC now owns 1,817,204 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $188,662,000 after acquiring an additional 586,576 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings 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 during the period. Swedbank AB grew its position in Axis Capital by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,194,754 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $114,457,000 after acquiring an additional 230,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Axis Capital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $100,683,000. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AXS shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Axis Capital in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Axis Capital in a report on Monday, December 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $133.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.89.

Axis Capital Trading Up 0.6%

Axis Capital stock opened at $103.34 on Thursday. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $84.81 and a 12 month high of $110.34. The company has a market capitalization of $7.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $103.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

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 return on equity of 18.99% and a net margin of 16.08%.The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.71 EPS. Axis Capital’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.55%.

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.