AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Shares Purchased by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 28.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,970 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,850 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXS. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 447.2% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 487 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in AXIS Capital during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 177.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 842 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.33.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $61.25 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.80. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $65.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.23.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.25) by $4.19. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 6.67% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.35 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stanley A. Galanski bought 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $58.45 per share, with a total value of $409,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,647.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.