AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $67.33.

Several analysts recently commented on AXS shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on AXIS Capital from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Stanley A. Galanski acquired 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $58.45 per share, for a total transaction of $409,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,647.35. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 1,787.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 12.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 527,945 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,760,000 after purchasing an additional 58,052 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 16.6% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 16,033 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $904,000 after purchasing an additional 2,279 shares during the period. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 3.3% during the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 9,803 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 5.4% during the third quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 39,622 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,233,000 after purchasing an additional 2,030 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

AXS stock opened at $65.39 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $62.84 and its 200-day moving average is $58.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.80. AXIS Capital has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $66.74.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.11% and a net margin of 10.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.33 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that AXIS Capital will post 10.17 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 26.91%.

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.