Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) Price Target Lowered to $126.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its price target reduced by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $130.00 to $126.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $122.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.60.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS stock opened at $101.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.15, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s 50 day moving average is $102.57 and its 200 day moving average is $100.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Axis Capital has a 52-week low of $86.86 and a 52-week high of $110.34.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 18.72%. Axis Capital’s revenue was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Axis Capital will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the third quarter worth $29,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the third quarter worth $43,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

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.