AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Receives $98.71 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $98.71.

A number of research firms recently commented on AXS. 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 report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of AXIS Capital from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Wednesday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 8,717.0% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,361,250 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $96,172,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345,811 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in 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 period. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 1,644.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 240,754 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $17,009,000 after purchasing an additional 226,956 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,583,700 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $182,538,000 after purchasing an additional 213,559 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in AXIS Capital by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,417,464 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $100,144,000 after purchasing an additional 157,110 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company's stock.

AXIS Capital Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of AXS traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $90.78. The company had a trading volume of 460,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 570,931. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a PE ratio of 12.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.94. AXIS Capital has a 1-year low of $53.49 and a 1-year high of $94.54.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that AXIS Capital will post 10.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.