AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $92.86.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on AXIS Capital from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their target price on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 55.6% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 80.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 507 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 45.9% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 588 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 32.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 424.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

AXIS Capital stock opened at $81.64 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $78.64 and a 200-day moving average of $72.71. AXIS Capital has a 52 week low of $52.90 and a 52 week high of $83.19.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.41. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.70% and a net margin of 11.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that AXIS Capital will post 10.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.91%.

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.