Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $119.00 to $134.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Axis Capital traded as high as $115.91 and last traded at $114.3680, with a volume of 867077 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $113.06.

Several other brokerages have also commented on AXS. Weiss Ratings raised Axis Capital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Axis Capital from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.70.

Insider Transactions at Axis Capital

In other Axis Capital news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total transaction of $250,869.98. Following the transaction, the director owned 46,347 shares in the company, valued at $4,573,985.43. This trade represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Axis Capital by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 439,989 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $47,118,000 after acquiring an additional 95,207 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 280,672 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,888,000 after purchasing an additional 37,741 shares in the last quarter. Numerai GP LLC bought a new stake in Axis Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,371,000. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,192,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 92,101 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,863,000 after purchasing an additional 24,884 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Stock Down 0.3%

The company has a market cap of $8.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.49. 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 fifty day moving average price of $101.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.46.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly 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 prior year, the firm posted $3.17 EPS. Axis Capital’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.25 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

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.