Jefferies Financial Group Raises AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Price Target to $95.00

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its price target lifted by Jefferies Financial Group from $88.00 to $95.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on AXS. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on AXIS Capital in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a buy rating and a $118.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $92.86.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

AXIS Capital stock opened at $80.60 on Wednesday. AXIS Capital has a fifty-two week low of $52.90 and a fifty-two week high of $82.33. The stock has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.70% and a net margin of 11.28%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that AXIS Capital will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 26.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AXS. Toronto Dominion Bank bought a new position in AXIS Capital during the 1st quarter valued at about $5,137,000. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 35.6% in the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 85,803 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,579,000 after purchasing an additional 22,540 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in AXIS Capital by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,707,110 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $482,113,000 after purchasing an additional 75,085 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AXIS Capital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $838,000. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital during the 1st quarter valued at $1,101,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.