Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Lowers Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) Price Target to $125.00

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its price target cut by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $131.00 to $125.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price indicates a potential upside of 20.09% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on AXS. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Axis Capital from $131.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $122.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.50.

Axis Capital Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $104.09 on Tuesday. Axis Capital has a 52-week low of $88.07 and a 52-week high of $119.99. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $106.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.25. The stock has a market cap of $7.60 billion, a PE ratio of 7.41, a PEG ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.49.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The insurance provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.25 by ($0.41). The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 16.23%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.29 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Axis Capital will post 12.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Axis Capital

In related news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total transaction of $250,869.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 46,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,573,985.43. The trade was a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axis Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Axis Capital by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,592,270 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $491,786,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,579 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Axis Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $103,001,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Axis Capital during the third quarter worth about $56,705,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 147.0% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 745,591 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $79,845,000 after purchasing an additional 443,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 374.7% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 553,565 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $53,032,000 after purchasing an additional 436,944 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

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.