AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $91.52 and last traded at $90.96, with a volume of 623991 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $91.23.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on AXIS Capital in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $118.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AXIS Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.86.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $81.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.06. The company has a market capitalization of $7.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 0.90.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 10.82%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXIS Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 113.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 315,018 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,484,000 after purchasing an additional 167,114 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $201,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,054,990 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,825,000 after buying an additional 64,438 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 37,887 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,353,000 after buying an additional 3,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 80.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 507 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.