AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the seven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $98.71.

AXS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of AXIS Capital from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on 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 upped their price objective on AXIS Capital from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXIS Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 32,549 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,591,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 0.4% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 31,785 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,542,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 32.6% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in AXIS Capital by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 15,394 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company's stock.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

AXS traded down $1.06 during trading on Monday, reaching $87.67. 881,259 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 530,753. AXIS Capital has a 1 year low of $53.88 and a 1 year high of $94.89. The company has a market capitalization of $7.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.95. The business's 50 day moving average price is $88.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.57 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 19.24%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital will post 10.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio 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.