AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $118.00 to $127.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. AXIS Capital traded as high as $91.52 and last traded at $90.96, with a volume of 623991 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.23.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on AXS. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.14.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AXS. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the third quarter worth about $507,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in AXIS Capital by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $129,371,000 after buying an additional 318,784 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 71.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,265 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,374,000 after acquiring an additional 7,205 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in AXIS Capital by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 300,726 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $23,941,000 after acquiring an additional 23,377 shares during the period. Finally, Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the third quarter valued at $4,249,000. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 3.2 %

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 $7.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $82.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.32.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 10.82%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.41%.

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.