Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) Price Target Raised to $122.00

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its target price raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $112.00 to $122.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on AXS. Mizuho dropped their price target on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $116.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Zacks Research upgraded Axis Capital from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Capital One Financial set a $108.00 price objective on Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Axis Capital from $131.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Axis Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.00.

Axis Capital Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of Axis Capital stock opened at $107.78 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $99.18 and a 200 day moving average of $102.09. The firm has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.37, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.39. Axis Capital has a 1 year low of $93.02 and a 1 year high of $119.99.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.85 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 14.62% and a return on equity of 16.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Axis Capital will post 12.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Axis Capital’s payout ratio is 13.45%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Henry Smith sold 4,893 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.15, for a total value of $519,391.95. Following the transaction, the director owned 41,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,400,342.10. This represents a 10.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axis Capital

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 8.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,682,238 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $373,412,000 after purchasing an additional 299,573 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 1.2% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,710,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $173,504,000 after buying an additional 21,001 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 14.0% during the first quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,362,091 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $138,130,000 after buying an additional 167,337 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 2.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,071,887 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $108,700,000 after buying an additional 23,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 31.4% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 979,944 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $99,376,000 after buying an additional 234,353 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Company Profile

Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE: AXS) is a Bermuda-based specialty insurance and reinsurance company. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides coverage and risk-management solutions for businesses, institutions and other insurers facing complex or difficult-to-place risks.

AXIS offers a range of commercial property and casualty insurance products, including professional liability, cyber, marine, aviation, energy, environmental, political risk, credit and surety, and accident and health coverage.