AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $118.00 to $127.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. AXIS Capital traded as high as $91.52 and last traded at $90.96, with a volume of 623991 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $91.23.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on AXS. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.14.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 113.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 315,018 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $20,484,000 after buying an additional 167,114 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,054,990 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,825,000 after purchasing an additional 64,438 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in AXIS Capital by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 37,887 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,353,000 after purchasing an additional 3,943 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 80.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 507 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in AXIS Capital by 55.6% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 3.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $7.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 19.24%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.34 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 24.41%.

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.