AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $95.86.

AXS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on AXIS Capital in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $118.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 55.6% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 80.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 507 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 45.9% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 588 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 32.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of AXS stock opened at $88.75 on Friday. AXIS Capital has a 12-month low of $53.49 and a 12-month high of $89.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $81.47 and a 200-day moving average of $75.82. The firm has a market cap of $7.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 0.90.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 10.82%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital will post 10.89 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.41%.

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.