AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upped their price objective 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.88.

AXIS Capital Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of AXS opened at $89.50 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $89.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.64. AXIS Capital has a twelve month low of $59.53 and a twelve month high of $94.89. The stock has a market cap of $7.49 billion, a PE ratio of 7.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.95. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. On average, equities analysts forecast that AXIS Capital will post 11.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,543,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $406,613,715. This represents a 32.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AXIS Capital

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 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.