Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Invests $277,000 in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,667 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 1,542.9% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 575 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 34.0% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 36.9% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,184 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the second quarter worth about $126,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Axis Capital by 34.3% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS stock opened at $93.46 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $95.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.78. The firm has a market cap of $7.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.72, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.73. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $77.21 and a 1 year high of $107.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.53. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 16.08%.The company had revenue of $184.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Axis Capital’s payout ratio is currently 16.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on AXS shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $123.00 price target on Axis Capital and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Axis Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Axis Capital in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Axis Capital news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.67, for a total value of $345,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 47,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,666,597.65. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel J. Draper sold 4,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total value of $420,038.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,587,366.33. This represents a 20.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,205 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,048. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Axis Capital 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.