Bank of America Increases AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Price Target to $78.00

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its price objective upped by Bank of America from $74.00 to $78.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on AXS. StockNews.com raised AXIS Capital from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an outperform rating and set a $86.00 price objective on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AXIS Capital from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $71.83.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:AXS opened at $70.58 on Thursday. AXIS Capital has a 52 week low of $52.02 and a 52 week high of $74.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of 10.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50 day moving average is $70.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.18.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 19.11%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that AXIS Capital will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 26.91%.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Michael Millegan bought 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $71.49 per share, with a total value of $100,086.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,553.84. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Michael Millegan purchased 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $71.49 per share, with a total value of $100,086.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 9,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,553.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stanley A. Galanski acquired 2,000 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $71.43 per share, with a total value of $142,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 11,763 shares in the company, valued at $840,231.09. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 6,425 shares of company stock worth $444,351 over the last quarter. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AXS. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,032 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 66.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 11,142 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $787,000 after purchasing an additional 4,448 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in AXIS Capital by 55.6% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 80.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 507 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 11.6% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 37,887 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,353,000 after acquiring an additional 3,943 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AXIS Capital

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.