Zacks Research Lowers Earnings Estimates for Axis Capital

Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q4 2025 EPS estimates for Axis Capital in a report released on Wednesday, November 12th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the insurance provider will post earnings per share of $2.93 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.99. The consensus estimate for Axis Capital’s current full-year earnings is $11.19 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Axis Capital’s Q1 2026 earnings at $2.99 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $3.11 EPS and Q2 2027 earnings at $3.31 EPS.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.53. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The firm had revenue of $184.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.71 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Axis Capital from $125.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Axis Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $123.00 price target on Axis Capital and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.00.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $102.26 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $95.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.07. Axis Capital has a fifty-two week low of $83.90 and a fifty-two week high of $107.19. The firm has a market cap of $7.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in Axis Capital by 94.0% in the second quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Axis Capital in the third quarter valued at $29,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in Axis Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Axis Capital during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Axis Capital news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total transaction of $345,345.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 47,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,666,597.65. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of Axis Capital stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 16,269 shares in the company, valued at $1,587,366.33. The trade was a 20.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,005 shares of company stock valued at $976,584. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. Axis Capital’s payout ratio is 14.55%.

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.