AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $94.00 to $96.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the stock. AXIS Capital traded as high as $84.84 and last traded at $84.43, with a volume of 13821 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $80.06.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on AXS. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $118.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.86.

Institutional Trading of AXIS Capital

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital during the first quarter valued at about $669,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in AXIS Capital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $683,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in AXIS Capital by 600.0% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 7,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the first quarter worth $328,000. Finally, Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the first quarter valued at $572,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $79.53 and a 200-day moving average of $73.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $6.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.90.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.16. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 19.24%. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.98 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.41%.

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.