Short Interest in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Drops By 5.3%

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,080,000 shares, a decline of 5.3% from the November 30th total of 1,140,000 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 550,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 9.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 276,691 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,548,000 after purchasing an additional 23,135 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 18,619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 1,712 shares in the last quarter. Gries Financial LLC grew its position in AXIS Capital by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 3,523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 8,717.0% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,361,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $96,172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,459 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,587,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AXIS Capital Stock Down 0.2 %

AXIS Capital stock opened at $88.62 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $7.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $87.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.75. AXIS Capital has a fifty-two week low of $53.88 and a fifty-two week high of $94.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.16. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 19.24%. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that AXIS Capital will post 10.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of AXIS Capital from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $78.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.71.

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.