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

Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $92.86.

Several analysts recently issued reports on AXS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on AXIS Capital from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $118.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AXS. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its stake in AXIS Capital by 32.6% in the second quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 55.6% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Gries Financial LLC boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 4.9% in the second quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 3,523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in AXIS Capital by 3.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,212 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC raised its holdings in AXIS Capital by 3.8% during the third quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 4,971 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS opened at $80.21 on Wednesday. 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. The firm has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50 day moving average is $79.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.18.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 19.70% and a net margin of 11.28%. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that AXIS Capital will post 10.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. 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.