Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 152,914 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 3.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,075,087 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 152,914 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $287,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in AXIS Capital by 43.9% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 26,663 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 8,135 shares during the period. ING Groep NV purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth $1,168,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth $52,845,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $515,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,619,000. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AXS. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America upped their price objective on AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.50.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $79.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $52.90 and a 1 year high of $80.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $74.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.60. The stock has a market cap of $6.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.89.

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

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.