AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $118.00 to $127.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. AXIS Capital traded as high as $91.52 and last traded at $90.96, with a volume of 623991 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $91.23.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.14.

Institutional Trading of AXIS Capital

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AXS. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 55.6% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 80.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 507 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 32.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in AXIS Capital by 424.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 3.2 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.32. The company has a market capitalization of $7.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 19.24%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 24.41%.

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.