Janus Henderson Group PLC Increases Stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,710,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,001 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 2.32% of Axis Capital worth $173,504,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Axis Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 80.8% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 396 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the first quarter worth about $43,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

Axis Capital stock opened at $105.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $7.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.49. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $88.07 and a 1-year high of $119.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $106.11 and a 200-day moving average of $103.18.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The insurance provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.25 by ($0.41). The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.74 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.09 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Axis Capital’s payout ratio is 13.11%.

Key Headlines Impacting Axis Capital

Here are the key news stories impacting Axis Capital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo lowered its price target to $126 from $134 but maintained an “overweight” rating, implying nearly 20% upside from the referenced share price. The median target among five analysts is $131. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Management expects approximately $17 million in full-year ACS fee income and indicated that share repurchases will continue during the second half of 2026, potentially supporting per-share value. Axis expects ACS fee income and continued buybacks
• Neutral Sentiment: AXS appointed Rahil Jogani to a newly created role leading technology and artificial-intelligence strategy. The initiative could improve efficiency over time, but its near-term financial impact is unclear. AXIS appoints technology and AI strategy head
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter operating earnings were $2.84 per share, below the roughly $3.30 consensus estimate, despite net income of $3.38 per share and revenue of $1.75 billion, which exceeded expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: The consolidated combined ratio deteriorated to 93.1% from 85.3% a year earlier, signaling materially weaker underwriting profitability. Catastrophe and weather-related losses reached $80 million, or 5.3 loss-ratio points, while weaker investment income also weighed on results. AXIS Capital Q2 earnings miss

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AXS shares. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Axis Capital from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Axis Capital from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Atlantic Securities set a $122.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.42.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 46,347 shares in the company, valued at $4,573,985.43. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.