Analysts Set AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Target Price at $106.75

Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nine research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $106.75.

AXS has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $120.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th.

AXIS Capital Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE AXS traded down $0.35 on Wednesday, reaching $94.60. 265,048 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 604,725. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.11 and a 200 day moving average of $89.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. AXIS Capital has a fifty-two week low of $60.64 and a fifty-two week high of $101.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.44 billion, a PE ratio of 7.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.67.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AXIS Capital will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital's payout ratio is 14.25%.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $224,786,435.50. This represents a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AXIS Capital

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. 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 worth $59,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.