AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Analyst Says

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its price objective boosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $110.00 to $115.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target points to a potential upside of 22.16% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America lifted 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.88.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

AXS stock opened at $94.14 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.62, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.95. AXIS Capital has a 1 year low of $57.95 and a 1 year high of $94.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $90.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.03.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. On average, research analysts predict that AXIS Capital will post 11.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,922.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,543,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $406,613,715. The trade was a 32.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.