Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Stock Holdings Lifted by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 14.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Axis Capital during the first quarter worth $33,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Axis Capital in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Axis Capital by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Axis Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $70,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Axis Capital Trading Up 0.9%

Axis Capital stock opened at $99.11 on Friday. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $68.56 and a 12 month high of $107.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $7.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.39.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.53. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 14.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.07 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Axis Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Axis Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.75.

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.