AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $100.50.

AXS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,959.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at $224,786,435.50. This trade represents a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXIS Capital

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth $88,175,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $88,147,000. FIL Ltd purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,893,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,775,000. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,118,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:AXS opened at $99.57 on Friday. AXIS Capital has a 1 year low of $60.45 and a 1 year high of $101.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $93.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $8.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. As a group, analysts expect that AXIS Capital will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.25%.

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.