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

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $95.86.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $118.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AXS. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 8,717.0% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,361,250 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $96,172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345,811 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 30.7% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,321,271 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $150,928,000 after purchasing an additional 545,546 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 24.4% during the third 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. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 1st quarter worth $17,065,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 1,644.8% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 240,754 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $17,009,000 after buying an additional 226,956 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 1.9 %

AXIS Capital stock traded up $1.65 on Friday, hitting $86.73. 543,330 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 469,213. AXIS Capital has a 1 year low of $53.48 and a 1 year high of $86.92. The firm has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.90. 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 fifty day simple moving average is $80.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.21.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.16. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 19.24%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AXIS Capital will post 10.89 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. AXIS Capital's payout ratio is presently 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.