Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $111.4286.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $119.00 price objective (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, August 4th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Axis Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axis Capital

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smithfield Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 94.0% in the 2nd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Axis Capital in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in Axis Capital in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 1,542.9% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 575 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Axis Capital Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $94.99 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.83. Axis Capital has a 52-week low of $74.27 and a 52-week high of $107.19. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.11.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.41. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Axis Capital will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.