Brokerages Set AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) PT at $98.71

Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $98.71.

Several analysts have commented on AXS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of AXIS Capital from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $78.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen raised 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on AXIS Capital from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,075,087 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $287,909,000 after buying an additional 152,914 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 9.0% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,583,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $182,538,000 after acquiring an additional 213,559 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 7.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,675,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $134,110,000 after acquiring an additional 112,536 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 24.4% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $129,371,000 after purchasing an additional 318,784 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in AXIS Capital by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,417,464 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,144,000 after purchasing an additional 157,110 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AXIS Capital Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of AXS opened at $87.81 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.95. 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 has a 1-year low of $53.88 and a 1-year high of $94.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $88.19 and a 200 day moving average of $80.31.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that AXIS Capital will post 10.83 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.41%.

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.