AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Short Interest Up 5.7% in July

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) saw a large increase in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,120,000 shares, an increase of 5.7% from the June 30th total of 1,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 564,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director W Marston Becker purchased 3,025 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $66.58 per share, with a total value of $201,404.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,452,842.18. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other AXIS Capital news, Director Michael Millegan acquired 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $71.49 per share, for a total transaction of $100,086.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,553.84. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director W Marston Becker acquired 3,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $66.58 per share, with a total value of $201,404.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,452,842.18. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 6,425 shares of company stock worth $444,351 in the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 6,997.6% in the second quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,730 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $617,000 after buying an additional 8,607 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 18,619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 1,712 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 33.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in AXIS Capital by 9.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 276,691 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $19,548,000 after purchasing an additional 23,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in AXIS Capital in the second quarter valued at approximately $208,000. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com raised AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target on AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AXIS Capital from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.83.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:AXS opened at $74.47 on Wednesday. AXIS Capital has a 12-month low of $52.90 and a 12-month high of $75.00. The firm has a market cap of $6.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $71.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.61.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.41. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.11% and a net margin of 10.34%. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.23 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital will post 10.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.91%.

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.