AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (AXS) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.44 on July 17th

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, May 16th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.44 per share by the insurance provider on Thursday, July 17th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th.

AXIS Capital has raised its dividend by an average of 1.4% per year over the last three years. AXIS Capital has a dividend payout ratio of 14.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect AXIS Capital to earn $12.33 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 14.3%.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of AXS stock opened at $102.48 on Friday. AXIS Capital has a 52-week low of $68.02 and a 52-week high of $102.56. The stock has a market cap of $8.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.30, 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 quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $96.27 and a 200-day moving average of $92.00.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.53. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.07 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AXIS Capital will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXIS Capital

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $199,999,959.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,786,435.50. This trade represents a 47.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXIS Capital

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in AXIS Capital stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 12.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,457 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,023 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.08% of AXIS Capital worth $6,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AXS. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.75.

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.