Roth Mkm Boosts AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Price Target to $90.00

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its price target lifted by Roth Mkm from $75.00 to $90.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on AXS. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. UBS Group increased their price target on AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an outperform rating and set a $86.00 price objective on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, June 17th. StockNews.com raised AXIS Capital from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $74.43.

AXIS Capital Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of AXIS Capital stock opened at $73.54 on Wednesday. AXIS Capital has a 12 month low of $52.90 and a 12 month high of $78.74. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a PE ratio of 11.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.90.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.70% and a net margin of 11.28%. AXIS Capital’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.23 EPS. Research analysts predict that AXIS Capital will post 10.35 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXIS Capital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gries Financial LLC raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 4.9% in the second quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 3,523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 6,997.6% during the 2nd quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,730 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $617,000 after purchasing an additional 8,607 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in AXIS Capital by 10.1% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 18,619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,712 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 33.9% in the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 9.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 276,691 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,548,000 after purchasing an additional 23,135 shares during the period. 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.