AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Price Target Raised to $115.00

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its price target increased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $110.00 to $115.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

AXS has been the subject of a number of other reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen increased 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.88.

AXIS Capital Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $93.43 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $90.04 and a 200-day moving average of $83.03. The firm has a market cap of $7.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.95. AXIS Capital has a twelve month low of $57.99 and a twelve month high of $94.89. 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 (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. As a group, analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital will post 11.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.25%.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $199,999,922.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,543,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $406,613,715. This represents a 32.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 371,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,070,000 after buying an additional 121,437 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $638,000. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $453,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $507,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $129,371,000 after purchasing an additional 318,784 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

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.