Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $123.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $105.00.

AXS has been the topic of several other reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Axis Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.17.

Axis Capital Price Performance

NYSE:AXS opened at $96.17 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $96.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.99. Axis Capital has a one year low of $77.21 and a one year high of $107.19. The company has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.73.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.29 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. Axis Capital’s revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Axis Capital will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.92%.

Insider Activity at Axis Capital

In related news, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total transaction of $420,038.85. Following the sale, the insider owned 16,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,587,366.33. This trade represents a 20.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total transaction of $345,345.00. Following the sale, the director owned 47,295 shares in the company, valued at $4,666,597.65. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,205 shares of company stock worth $1,188,048 in the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axis Capital

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 68.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 370,054 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,094,000 after purchasing an additional 150,652 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $321,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $620,000. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.