AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Given New $104.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its price objective upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $100.00 to $104.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $120.00 to $114.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AXIS Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.75.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

AXS stock opened at $100.77 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $95.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.10. AXIS Capital has a 52-week low of $68.02 and a 52-week high of $101.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.16, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.53. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that AXIS Capital will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.46%.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction 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 owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at $224,786,435.50. This trade represents a 47.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 1,542.9% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 575 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. 93.44% of the stock is currently 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.