Zacks Research Expects Stronger Earnings for Axis Capital

Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) – Zacks Research upped their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Axis Capital in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, February 17th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the insurance provider will earn $3.07 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $3.06. The consensus estimate for Axis Capital’s current full-year earnings is $11.19 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Axis Capital’s Q2 2026 earnings at $3.13 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $3.30 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.43 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $12.94 EPS and Q2 2027 earnings at $3.43 EPS.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 15.37%.The business’s revenue was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.38 earnings per share.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Axis Capital from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Compass Point set a $121.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.00.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Axis Capital stock opened at $103.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $104.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. Axis Capital has a 1 year low of $84.81 and a 1 year high of $110.34.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axis Capital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,954,373 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $762,029,000 after purchasing an additional 43,901 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Axis Capital by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,592,270 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $491,786,000 after buying an additional 1,083,579 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Axis Capital by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,382,665 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $362,263,000 after buying an additional 63,751 shares during the last quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Axis Capital by 47.7% during the second quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC now owns 1,817,204 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $188,662,000 after buying an additional 586,576 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 15,755 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Axis Capital’s payout ratio is 14.21%.

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.