AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.88.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 2.5 %

NYSE AXS opened at $94.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $7.87 billion, a PE ratio of 7.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.74. AXIS Capital has a one year low of $60.06 and a one year high of $94.94.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AXIS Capital will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 14.25%.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $199,999,922.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,543,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $406,613,715. The trade was a 32.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $88,175,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $88,147,000. FIL Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,893,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,775,000. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $31,118,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

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.