AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Given New $88.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its price objective upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $86.00 to $88.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

AXS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com upgraded AXIS Capital from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AXIS Capital presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $74.71.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS traded up $0.87 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $74.11. 405,392 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 603,109. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.90. AXIS Capital has a 52-week low of $52.90 and a 52-week high of $78.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.53 and a 200-day moving average of $66.47.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.41. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 19.70%. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that AXIS Capital will post 10.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stanley A. Galanski bought 2,000 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $71.43 per share, with a total value of $142,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,763 shares in the company, valued at $840,231.09. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other AXIS Capital news, Director Michael Millegan purchased 1,400 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $71.49 per share, for a total transaction of $100,086.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,553.84. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Stanley A. Galanski acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $71.43 per share, with a total value of $142,860.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 11,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $840,231.09. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXIS Capital

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in AXIS Capital by 0.9% during 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 boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,075,087 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $287,909,000 after acquiring an additional 152,914 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in AXIS Capital by 30.7% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,321,271 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $150,928,000 after acquiring an additional 545,546 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 8,717.0% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,361,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $96,172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345,811 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

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.