AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Raised to Equal Weight at Wells Fargo & Company

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) was upgraded by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $89.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $78.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target suggests a potential downside of 1.96% from the stock’s current price.

AXS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.71.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

AXS opened at $90.78 on Wednesday. AXIS Capital has a 12-month low of $53.49 and a 12-month high of $94.54. The company has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.90.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.16. The company 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 last year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. Research analysts predict that AXIS Capital will post 10.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AXS. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 48.6% in the third 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. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,004,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 108.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 48,828 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,887,000 after buying an additional 25,436 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,267,338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $100,921,000 after buying an additional 43,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the third quarter worth $853,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

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.