Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) Price Target to $119.00

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its target price lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $125.00 to $119.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on AXS. Wells Fargo & Company set a $123.00 price objective on shares of Axis Capital and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Axis Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised their target price on Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Axis Capital in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.00.

Axis Capital Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Axis Capital stock opened at $97.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.07, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.73. Axis Capital has a twelve month low of $82.17 and a twelve month high of $107.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.81.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $184.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 16.08%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.71 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Axis Capital will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Axis Capital’s payout ratio is 14.55%.

Insider Transactions at Axis Capital

In related news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total transaction of $420,038.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,587,366.33. This trade represents a 20.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total value of $345,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 47,295 shares in the company, valued at $4,666,597.65. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 12,205 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,048 over the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axis Capital

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its stake in Axis Capital by 94.0% in the 2nd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in Axis Capital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Axis Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the third quarter valued at $43,000. 93.44% of the stock is 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.