AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $118.00 to $127.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. AXIS Capital 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.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AXS. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 48.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 371,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,070,000 after purchasing an additional 121,437 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the third quarter worth about $1,004,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 108.7% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 48,828 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,887,000 after purchasing an additional 25,436 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,267,338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $100,921,000 after purchasing an additional 43,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $853,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.34 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is currently 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.