AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.44

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, December 5th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.44 per share by the insurance provider on Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st.

AXIS Capital has raised its dividend by an average of 2.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 23 years. AXIS Capital has a payout ratio of 15.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect AXIS Capital to earn $11.66 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.1%.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

AXS opened at $89.29 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $87.13 and its 200 day moving average is $79.34. 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 company has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.94. AXIS Capital has a 12-month low of $53.88 and a 12-month high of $94.89.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised AXIS Capital from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research 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 stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.71.

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.