AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $81.58 and last traded at $81.51, with a volume of 37288 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $79.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AXS. UBS Group lifted their target price on AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.86.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 2.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $6.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $76.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.07.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.70% and a net margin of 11.28%. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.23 EPS. Research analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.71 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 26.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AXS. Toronto Dominion Bank bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 1st quarter valued at $5,137,000. Foundry Partners LLC raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 35.6% during the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 85,803 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,579,000 after acquiring an additional 22,540 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,707,110 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $482,113,000 after acquiring an additional 75,085 shares during the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $838,000. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,101,000. 93.44% of the stock is 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.