Short Interest in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Increases By 49.1%

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) saw a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,480,000 shares, an increase of 49.1% from the January 31st total of 992,500 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 633,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

AXS stock opened at $95.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.69 billion, a PE ratio of 7.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $90.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.52. AXIS Capital has a 1-year low of $60.06 and a 1-year high of $98.11.

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

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is presently 14.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction 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 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. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AXIS Capital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 48.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 371,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,070,000 after buying an additional 121,437 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $638,000. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $453,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $507,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.4% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $129,371,000 after purchasing an additional 318,784 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on AXS shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.88.

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.