AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on AXS. 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 report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $67.33.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE AXS opened at $65.39 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.80. AXIS Capital has a 52-week low of $51.61 and a 52-week high of $66.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $62.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.73.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.11% and a net margin of 10.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that AXIS Capital will post 10.17 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stanley A. Galanski purchased 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $58.45 per share, with a total value of $409,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,647.35. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth $52,845,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in AXIS Capital by 89.5% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,230,822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $69,381,000 after buying an additional 581,409 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 185.1% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 488,556 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,051,000 after buying an additional 317,169 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,632,025 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $486,587,000 after acquiring an additional 207,233 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 989,689 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,799,000 after acquiring an additional 204,389 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Company 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.