Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) Price Target Lowered to $106.00 at Bank of America

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its price target cut by Bank of America from $115.00 to $106.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

AXS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $122.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.80.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $99.36 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $102.24 and its 200 day moving average is $100.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.63. Axis Capital has a fifty-two week low of $88.07 and a fifty-two week high of $110.34.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 18.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Axis Capital will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Axis Capital’s payout ratio is currently 14.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axis Capital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Axis Capital by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 63,457 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,361,000 after acquiring an additional 7,023 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Axis Capital by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 205,553 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,605,000 after acquiring an additional 12,680 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in Axis Capital by 86.2% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 47,277 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,739,000 after acquiring an additional 21,892 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Axis Capital by 42.1% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 10,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after acquiring an additional 3,085 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Axis Capital by 33.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 987 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.