Madison Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 32,829 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,527,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Axis Capital by 12.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 63,457 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,361,000 after purchasing an additional 7,023 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 205,553 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $20,605,000 after purchasing an additional 12,680 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 86.2% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 47,277 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,739,000 after purchasing an additional 21,892 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 42.1% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 10,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,044,000 after purchasing an additional 3,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Axis Capital by 33.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $98.91 on Friday. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 52-week low of $88.07 and a 52-week high of $119.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.02, a PEG ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $107.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.18.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.25 by ($0.41). Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Capital One Financial set a $108.00 target price on Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Atlantic Securities set a $122.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Axis Capital from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.50.

Axis Capital 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.