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 Tuesday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on AXS. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on AXIS Capital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen raised their price target on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AXIS Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.88.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

AXS opened at $92.72 on Tuesday. AXIS Capital has a 1 year low of $60.45 and a 1 year high of $98.11. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a PE ratio of 7.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.95.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. Research analysts expect that AXIS Capital will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.25%.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $199,999,959.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,786,435.50. The trade was a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AXIS Capital

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,144,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $367,265,000 after purchasing an additional 17,764 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,444,128 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $305,219,000 after purchasing an additional 12,571 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,178,512 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $281,680,000 after acquiring an additional 53,514 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $238,344,000 after purchasing an additional 134,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in AXIS Capital by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,042,925 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $181,045,000 after purchasing an additional 20,976 shares during the last quarter. 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.