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

Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $67.33.

Several analysts recently commented on AXS shares. StockNews.com upgraded AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on AXIS Capital from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 0.4 %

AXS stock opened at $65.45 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.01, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. AXIS Capital has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $66.74.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that AXIS Capital will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stanley A. Galanski acquired 7,000 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $58.45 per share, for a total transaction of $409,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,647.35. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXIS Capital

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AXS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,707,110 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $482,113,000 after buying an additional 75,085 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,788,802 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $209,785,000 after purchasing an additional 27,750 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,976,903 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $167,808,000 after buying an additional 72,913 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,776,551 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,144,000 after acquiring an additional 16,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 1.7% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,246,288 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $81,034,000 after purchasing an additional 20,746 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About AXIS Capital

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.