AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.44

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 20th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.44 per share by the insurance provider on Thursday, April 17th. 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 has raised its dividend payment by an average of 1.4% per year over the last three years. AXIS Capital has a dividend payout ratio of 14.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect AXIS Capital to earn $12.33 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 14.3%.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

NYSE:AXS opened at $92.57 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.28. The stock has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.50, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.95. AXIS Capital has a 1-year low of $60.06 and a 1-year high of $94.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,922.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,543,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $406,613,715. This represents a 32.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on AXS shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets assumed 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. TD Cowen upped their target price on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.88.

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.