Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS Shares Acquired by Oak Thistle LLC

Oak Thistle LLC lifted its position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 41.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,747 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,635 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $2,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Axis Capital by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,716,201 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $383,698,000 after acquiring an additional 425,790 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 95.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,852,398 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $185,685,000 after purchasing an additional 903,107 shares during the last quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 47.7% in the 2nd quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC now owns 1,817,204 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $188,662,000 after purchasing an additional 586,576 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 1.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,631,198 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $170,069,000 after purchasing an additional 15,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Axis Capital during the second quarter worth approximately $100,683,000. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE AXS opened at $107.14 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $83.90 and a 1-year high of $108.12. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.15. The company has a market capitalization of $8.25 billion, a PE ratio of 8.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.65.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.53. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.99% and a net margin of 16.08%.The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.71 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Axis Capital in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho started coverage on Axis Capital in a research report on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $133.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Monday, December 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.67.

Axis Capital 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.