Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Buys Shares of 29,469 Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 29,469 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,823,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 63.2% in the third quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 352,050 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,726,000 after buying an additional 136,313 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new stake in Axis Capital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,025,000. Capital Fund Management S.A. acquired a new position in Axis Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,851,000. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC increased its position in Axis Capital by 116.5% in the 2nd quarter. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC now owns 44,775 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,649,000 after acquiring an additional 24,098 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 9.7% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 31,755 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,297,000 after acquiring an additional 2,820 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (down previously from $116.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Axis Capital in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $121.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.89.

Axis Capital Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE AXS opened at $103.43 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.65. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $84.81 and a one year high of $110.34.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.53. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.99% and a net margin of 16.08%.The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.71 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.55%.

Axis Capital 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.