AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Position Lifted by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 23.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,613 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 371,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,070,000 after acquiring an additional 121,437 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,004,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 108.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 48,828 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,887,000 after acquiring an additional 25,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AXIS Capital by 3.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,267,338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,921,000 after purchasing an additional 43,687 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of AXIS Capital from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.71.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $87.81 on Friday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $53.88 and a 12-month high of $94.89. The company has a market cap of $7.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.36. 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 announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 firm posted $2.34 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.83 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.41%.

AXIS Capital 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.