AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on AXS. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.50.

AXIS Capital Trading Down 8.4 %

Shares of AXS stock opened at $90.68 on Friday. AXIS Capital has a 52-week low of $60.45 and a 52-week high of $101.42. The business’s fifty day moving average is $93.96 and its 200 day moving average is $88.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $7.33 billion, a PE ratio of 7.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.67.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $199,999,922.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,543,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $406,613,715. This trade represents a 32.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in AXIS Capital by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,144,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $367,265,000 after acquiring an additional 17,764 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,444,128 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $305,219,000 after purchasing an additional 12,571 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,178,512 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $281,680,000 after purchasing an additional 53,514 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $238,344,000 after buying an additional 134,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,042,925 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $181,045,000 after buying an additional 20,976 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

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.