AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $98.71.

AXS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen boosted their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised AXIS Capital from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $89.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th.

AXIS Capital Trading Down 4.7 %

NYSE:AXS opened at $88.20 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.40. 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 has a 12 month low of $53.49 and a 12 month high of $94.89.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.16. The business 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. Analysts expect that AXIS Capital will post 10.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of AXIS Capital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 32.6% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in AXIS Capital by 424.6% during 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 period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital during the third quarter worth about $99,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in AXIS Capital by 158.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,308 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.