AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $95.86.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AXS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America upped their price target on AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $118.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AXS. Toronto Dominion Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,137,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in AXIS Capital in the first quarter valued at $683,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 71.6% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,265 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,374,000 after acquiring an additional 7,205 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the third quarter valued at $507,000. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 84.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 40,404 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,855,000 after acquiring an additional 18,490 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of AXS opened at $86.73 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.12. AXIS Capital has a twelve month low of $53.48 and a twelve month high of $86.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.90.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 10.82%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AXIS Capital will post 10.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.41%.

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.