AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $101.61 and last traded at $101.23, with a volume of 283541 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $100.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AXIS Capital from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.75.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $7.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.20, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $95.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.23.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.07 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is currently 17.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,786,435.50. This represents a 47.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AXIS Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 1,542.9% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 575 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in AXIS Capital by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Company Profile

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.