AXIS Capital’s (AXS) “Market Perform” Rating Reiterated at JMP Securities

JMP Securities reissued their market perform rating on shares of AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. StockNews.com lowered AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.88.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of AXS opened at $92.68 on Monday. AXIS Capital has a fifty-two week low of $57.95 and a fifty-two week high of $94.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $90.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $7.75 billion, a PE ratio of 7.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.95.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. As a group, analysts forecast that AXIS Capital will post 11.36 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,922.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,543,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $406,613,715. This represents a 32.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AXIS Capital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 15,224 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,076,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 19.9% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 9,773 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AXIS Capital in the second quarter valued at about $1,653,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 32.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 158.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,308 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

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.