AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $100.71.

AXS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded AXIS Capital from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on AXIS Capital from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th.

Institutional Trading of AXIS Capital

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 48.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 371,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,070,000 after acquiring an additional 121,437 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $453,000. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $638,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at $507,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.4% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $129,371,000 after purchasing an additional 318,784 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $85.59 on Monday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $7.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.95. AXIS Capital has a 1-year low of $53.88 and a 1-year high of $94.89. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $88.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.41.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.16. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 19.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that AXIS Capital will post 10.83 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.41%.

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.