Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $84.17.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AX shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Axos Financial from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Axos Financial from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Axos Financial in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Axos Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on Axos Financial from $96.00 to $88.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Edward James Ratinoff sold 4,002 shares of Axos Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.41, for a total transaction of $317,798.82. Following the transaction, the director now owns 46,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,669,456.69. The trade was a 7.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gregory Garrabrants sold 125,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.89, for a total value of $10,236,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,340,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $109,763,472.53. This represents a 8.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.07% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axos Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in Axos Financial by 34.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,154,737 shares of the company's stock worth $72,610,000 after acquiring an additional 292,952 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Axos Financial by 107.9% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 367,251 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,988,000 after purchasing an additional 190,584 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Axos Financial by 5.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,178,708 shares of the company's stock worth $199,877,000 after purchasing an additional 164,997 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Axos Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $9,849,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Axos Financial by 6.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,444,756 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,861,000 after purchasing an additional 91,797 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Axos Financial Price Performance

AX opened at $70.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 9.41 and a beta of 1.46. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $74.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.34. Axos Financial has a 52-week low of $44.10 and a 52-week high of $88.46.

Axos Financial (NYSE:AX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. Axos Financial had a net margin of 22.10% and a return on equity of 19.12%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Axos Financial will post 7.16 EPS for the current year.

About Axos Financial

Axos Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides consumer and business banking products in the United States. It operates through two segments, Banking Business and Securities Business. The company offers deposits products, including consumer and business checking, demand, savings, time deposit, money market, zero balance, and insured cash sweep accounts.

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