AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Receives $67.33 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $67.33.

AXS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on AXIS Capital from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $65.39 on Wednesday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $62.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.73. The stock has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.00, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.80. AXIS Capital has a 52-week low of $51.61 and a 52-week high of $66.74.

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

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stanley A. Galanski purchased 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $58.45 per share, for a total transaction of $409,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,647.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 1,787.0% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,833 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.