Renaissance Group LLC Has $6.39 Million Stock Position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Renaissance Group LLC lessened its stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 23.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,569 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 18,350 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Group LLC’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $6,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AXS. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 21.6% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 658 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co grew its position in Axis Capital by 94.0% in the second quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in Axis Capital by 0.6% during the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 25,065 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,513,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 2.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $825,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intrust Bank NA boosted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 6,042 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $606,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Axis Capital

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total transaction of $345,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 47,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,666,597.65. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

NYSE:AXS opened at $100.95 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.78 billion, a PE ratio of 8.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.73. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $83.90 and a fifty-two week high of $107.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.12.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $184.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited 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 issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $125.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Thursday, November 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $123.00 price objective on Axis Capital and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.00.

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.