AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Shares Gap Up to $55.66

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $55.66, but opened at $57.01. AXIS Capital shares last traded at $58.07, with a volume of 59,198 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of AXIS Capital from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $53.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Friday, September 8th. They set a “sell” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.20.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $54.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.80. The company has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.50, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.59.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.46. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 8.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.50, for a total value of $333,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,710 shares in the company, valued at $2,758,905. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AXIS Capital

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Delphi Management Inc. MA acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the second quarter worth approximately $1,191,000. Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the second quarter worth approximately $1,771,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 4.5% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,547,997 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $83,329,000 after purchasing an additional 65,968 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in AXIS Capital by 2.8% in the second quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 13,185 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $710,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in AXIS Capital by 3.8% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 17,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $937,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. 89.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AXIS Capital

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides various specialty insurance and reinsurance products worldwide. It operates through two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance. The Insurance segment offers property insurance products for commercial buildings, residential premises, construction projects, and onshore energy installations; marine classes covering offshore energy, cargo, liability, kidnap and ransom, fine art, specie, and hull war; and terrorism, aviation, credit and political risk, and liability insurance products.