AXIS Capital Holdings Limited Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.44 (NYSE:AXS)

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 20th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.44 per share by the insurance provider on Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st.

AXIS Capital has increased its dividend by an average of 1.4% per year over the last three years. AXIS Capital has a dividend payout ratio of 14.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect AXIS Capital to earn $12.33 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 14.3%.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of AXS stock traded up $1.07 on Thursday, hitting $92.57. The company had a trading volume of 890,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 675,233. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $89.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.95. AXIS Capital has a twelve month low of $60.06 and a twelve month high of $94.89.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on AXS shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.88.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $199,999,922.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,543,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $406,613,715. This trade represents a 32.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.