Brokerages Set AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) PT at $67.33

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $67.33.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com upgraded AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Stanley A. Galanski acquired 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $58.45 per share, with a total value of $409,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,647.35. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXIS Capital

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AXS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in AXIS Capital by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,707,110 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $482,113,000 after buying an additional 75,085 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,788,802 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $209,785,000 after acquiring an additional 27,750 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in AXIS Capital by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,976,903 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $167,808,000 after purchasing an additional 72,913 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,776,551 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $100,144,000 after purchasing an additional 16,031 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in AXIS Capital by 1.7% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,246,288 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $81,034,000 after purchasing an additional 20,746 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE AXS opened at $65.45 on Wednesday. AXIS Capital has a 52 week low of $51.61 and a 52 week high of $66.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a PE ratio of 10.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.80.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 19.53%. AXIS Capital’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that AXIS Capital will post 10.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 26.91%.

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.