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

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $99.25.

Several brokerages have weighed in on AXS. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of AXIS Capital stock opened at $92.74 on Friday. AXIS Capital has a 52-week low of $55.56 and a 52-week high of $94.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $90.05 and a 200 day moving average of $82.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.95.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 19.24%. As a group, research analysts forecast that AXIS Capital will post 10.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth $31,118,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.4% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $129,371,000 after buying an additional 318,784 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 1,644.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 240,754 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $17,009,000 after buying an additional 226,956 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 131.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 254,551 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,265,000 after acquiring an additional 144,792 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 371,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,070,000 after acquiring an additional 121,437 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% 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.