Wells Fargo & Company Lowers AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Price Target to $85.00

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $89.00 to $85.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the insurance provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective indicates a potential downside of 3.34% from the stock's current price.

AXS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Bank of America upped their target price on AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday. They set a "market perform" rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.25.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXS stock traded up $2.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $87.94. The stock had a trading volume of 589,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 586,972. The company has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. AXIS Capital has a 12-month low of $53.88 and a 12-month high of $94.89. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.74.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital will post 10.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of AXIS Capital

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in AXIS Capital in the second quarter valued at $258,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,075,087 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $287,909,000 after purchasing an additional 152,914 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 235.6% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 165,100 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $11,664,000 after purchasing an additional 115,900 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $205,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in AXIS Capital by 3.7% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 9,527 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $673,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.