AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $96.00 and last traded at $96.00, with a volume of 128 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $93.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group increased their target price 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 lifted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.14.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $7.82 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.86.

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

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXIS Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AXS. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 11.6% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 37,887 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,353,000 after acquiring an additional 3,943 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position 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 worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 66.4% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 11,142 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $787,000 after acquiring an additional 4,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 5.0% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,032 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.