AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $94.00 to $96.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the stock. AXIS Capital traded as high as $84.84 and last traded at $84.43, with a volume of 13821 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $80.06.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen began coverage on AXIS Capital in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $118.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AXS. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 55.6% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 80.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 507 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 45.9% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 588 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its position in AXIS Capital by 32.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 424.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 4.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.01.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.16. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 10.82%. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.98 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.41%.

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.