Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $122.10.

AXS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Axis Capital from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Axis Capital from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho set a $137.00 price target on Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America decreased their price target on 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, Weiss Ratings cut Axis Capital from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axis Capital

In related news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 46,347 shares in the company, valued at $4,573,985.43. The trade was a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Axis Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AXS. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in Axis Capital by 5.0% during the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,104 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in Axis Capital by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,597 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in Axis Capital by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 5,390 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Axis Capital by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 37,119 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,975,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Evoke Wealth LLC lifted its position in Axis Capital by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS opened at $101.03 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $7.45 billion, a PE ratio of 7.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $99.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.80. Axis Capital has a 12-month low of $88.07 and a 12-month high of $110.34.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 16.00%.Axis Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Axis Capital will post 13.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.