Federated Hermes Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 32,138 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $1,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Steph & Co. boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 10,028 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $555,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,688 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.4% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,046 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 5.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,109 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.5% in the third quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 27,450 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,547,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Stanley A. Galanski acquired 7,000 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

AXS opened at $60.64 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 52-week low of $51.61 and a 52-week high of $65.86. The company has a 50 day moving average of $62.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.56. The company has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.80.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 6.67% and a return on equity of 19.25%. On average, analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.33.

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.