Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 106,466 AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 106,466 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,522,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 8,717.0% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,361,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $96,172,000 after buying an additional 1,345,811 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 30.7% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,321,271 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $150,928,000 after purchasing an additional 545,546 shares during the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. acquired a new position in AXIS Capital during the first quarter valued at $17,065,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in AXIS Capital by 1,644.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 240,754 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,009,000 after purchasing an additional 226,956 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,583,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $182,538,000 after buying an additional 213,559 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $79.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $75.86 and a 200 day moving average of $70.48. The firm has a market cap of $6.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.89. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a one year low of $52.90 and a one year high of $80.50.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 19.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.23 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on AXS shares. Roth Mkm upped their target price on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on AXIS Capital from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.50.

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.