Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $120.31 According to Brokerages

Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $120.31.

Several research firms have recently commented on AXS. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Axis Capital from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $131.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AXS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $103,001,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Axis Capital by 41.2% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,370,479 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $146,765,000 after buying an additional 400,068 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Axis Capital by 8.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,682,238 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $373,412,000 after buying an additional 299,573 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Axis Capital by 31.4% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 979,944 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $99,376,000 after buying an additional 234,353 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,362,091 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $138,130,000 after acquiring an additional 167,337 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $94.56 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $102.43 and a 200 day moving average of $102.27. The firm has a market cap of $6.90 billion, a PE ratio of 6.72, a PEG ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.49. Axis Capital has a one year low of $88.07 and a one year high of $119.99.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.25 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.74 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.29 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Axis Capital will post 12.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.50%.

About Axis Capital

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE: AXS) is a Bermuda-based specialty insurance and reinsurance company. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides coverage and risk-management solutions for businesses, institutions and other insurance companies.

Its insurance operations offer products across property, casualty, professional liability, cyber, marine, aviation, accident and health, and other specialty lines. Its reinsurance business assumes risks from primary insurers through property, casualty and specialty reinsurance arrangements.

Founded in 2001, AXIS serves clients and distribution partners in major insurance markets across North America, Bermuda, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international regions.