AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.44

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 20th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of 0.44 per share by the insurance provider on Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st.

AXIS Capital has increased its dividend payment by an average of 1.4% per year over the last three years. AXIS Capital has a dividend payout ratio of 14.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect AXIS Capital to earn $12.33 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 14.3%.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

AXS traded up $1.07 during trading on Thursday, hitting $92.57. The stock had a trading volume of 890,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 675,233. 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 50 day moving average price of $89.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.22. AXIS Capital has a one year low of $60.06 and a one year high of $94.89. The firm has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.95.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 predict that AXIS Capital will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $199,999,922.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,543,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at $406,613,715. This represents a 32.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AXS. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.88.

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.

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