Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 6,800 Shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 37.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,200 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,800 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $2,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 94.0% during the 2nd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in Axis Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Axis Capital in the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho set a $141.00 target price on Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $122.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America cut their target price on Axis Capital from $119.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $121.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Axis Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.00.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Shares of Axis Capital stock opened at $104.36 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $7.72 billion, a PE ratio of 8.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $103.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.13. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a twelve month low of $84.81 and a twelve month high of $110.34.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 18.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.21%.

Axis Capital Company 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.