AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Stock Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $79.54 and traded as high as $89.00. AXIS Capital shares last traded at $88.77, with a volume of 397,466 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AXS shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised AXIS Capital from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $89.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on 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 increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.71.

AXIS Capital Stock Down 0.6 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.54. The stock has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for 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 last year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.41%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds 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 in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the third quarter worth $453,000. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the third quarter worth $638,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $507,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $129,371,000 after purchasing an additional 318,784 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.