AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Price Target Raised to $127.00

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its target price lifted by TD Cowen from $118.00 to $127.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

AXS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on AXIS Capital from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price target on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.14.

AXIS Capital Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of AXS opened at $93.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a PE ratio of 13.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company’s fifty day moving average is $82.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.45. AXIS Capital has a fifty-two week low of $53.49 and a fifty-two week high of $94.39.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.16. The firm 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that AXIS Capital will post 10.89 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in AXIS Capital by 55.6% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 80.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 507 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 32.6% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 424.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.