AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Receives $69.33 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $69.33.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AXS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $86.00 target price on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, June 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXS opened at $71.07 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $68.32 and a 200 day moving average of $62.51. AXIS Capital has a twelve month low of $52.02 and a twelve month high of $74.05.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 19.11%. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.91%.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Stanley A. Galanski bought 2,000 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $71.43 per share, for a total transaction of $142,860.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 11,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $840,231.09. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other AXIS Capital news, Director Stanley A. Galanski bought 2,000 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $71.43 per share, for a total transaction of $142,860.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 11,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $840,231.09. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director W Marston Becker bought 3,025 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.58 per share, for a total transaction of $201,404.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 21,821 shares in the company, valued at $1,452,842.18. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 6,425 shares of company stock worth $444,351 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 165.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 168,214 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,482,000 after purchasing an additional 104,915 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter worth about $341,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 60,866 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,431,000 after acquiring an additional 18,360 shares in the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 2,642.2% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 2,989 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 2,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,767,000. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.