Wasatch Advisors LP Decreases Holdings in Axos Financial, Inc $AX

Wasatch Advisors LP reduced its stake in Axos Financial, Inc (NYSE:AX) by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 515,576 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100,805 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP’s holdings in Axos Financial were worth $50,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Axos Financial by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,696,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,315,000 after purchasing an additional 13,669 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Axos Financial by 0.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,177,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,234,000 after buying an additional 7,509 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Axos Financial by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,775,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,687,000 after buying an additional 62,269 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Axos Financial by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 740,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,319,000 after buying an additional 58,774 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Axos Financial by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 721,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,171,000 after buying an additional 52,250 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Axos Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Axos Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson set a $121.00 target price on shares of Axos Financial in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Axos Financial from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Axos Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $114.83.

Axos Financial Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of AX opened at $100.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 1.22. Axos Financial, Inc has a one year low of $74.89 and a one year high of $105.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $95.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.26.

Axos Financial (NYSE:AX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $2.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.37. Axos Financial had a return on equity of 16.96% and a net margin of 22.39%.The company had revenue of $379.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $375.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Axos Financial, Inc will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Axos Financial

In other news, Director Roque A. Santi sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.30, for a total transaction of $52,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $752,473.80. This trade represents a 6.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael James Watson sold 1,653 shares of Axos Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.77, for a total transaction of $138,471.81. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $384,671.84. This trade represents a 26.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 4.85% of the company’s stock.

Axos Financial Profile

Axos Financial, Inc (NYSE: AX) is a diversified online banking and financial services holding company headquartered in San Diego, California. The firm traces its origins to 1999 with the launch of Bank of Internet USA and rebranded as Axos Financial in December 2018 to reflect an expanded suite of digital offerings. Axos Financial operates through its wholly owned subsidiary, Axos Bank, providing a technology-driven banking platform that serves both retail and commercial clients across the United States.

Through its digital banking platform, Axos Financial delivers a range of deposit products, including checking and savings accounts, money market and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as individual retirement accounts.