AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Given New $118.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $115.00 to $118.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the insurance provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price target indicates a potential upside of 28.41% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $100.25.

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AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $91.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $7.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $90.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.25. AXIS Capital has a fifty-two week low of $60.45 and a fifty-two week high of $98.11.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AXIS Capital will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,786,435.50. This trade represents a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AXIS Capital

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 48.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 371,557 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $30,070,000 after purchasing an additional 121,437 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital in the third quarter valued at about $638,000. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital in the third quarter worth about $453,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the third quarter worth about $507,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.4% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $129,371,000 after acquiring an additional 318,784 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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