AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.16 EPS

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.16, Briefing.com reports. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.83% and a net margin of 10.82%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 EPS.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXIS Capital stock traded up $0.78 during trading on Friday, hitting $79.04. 566,685 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 579,092. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $79.42 and its 200-day moving average is $73.52. The stock has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.89. AXIS Capital has a 52 week low of $52.90 and a 52 week high of $83.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on AXIS Capital in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $118.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.86.

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.