Point72 Hong Kong Ltd Boosts Stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Point72 Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 2,079.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,429 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,767 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $1,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. Barclays PLC raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 53.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 48,964 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,898,000 after acquiring an additional 17,082 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,463 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,548,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $549,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A raised its stake in AXIS Capital by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 2,765 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXS has been the subject of several analyst reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AXIS Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.75.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

AXS opened at $100.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.77. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1-year low of $68.02 and a 1-year high of $102.36.

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

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AXIS Capital

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,959.50. Following the sale, 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 this link. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.