AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Receives $100.25 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $100.25.

A number of research firms have weighed in on AXS. 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 target on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on AXIS Capital from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,959.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,786,435.50. This represents a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AXIS Capital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 32,549 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,591,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 31,785 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,542,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,931 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 0.9 %

AXS stock opened at $99.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50-day moving average of $92.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. AXIS Capital has a 52-week low of $60.45 and a 52-week high of $100.78.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

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 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.25%.

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.