Wells Fargo & Company Upgrades AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) to Equal Weight

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has $89.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $78.00.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on AXS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of 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 price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen increased their target price on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.71.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 1.1 %

AXS opened at $91.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.73, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.94. AXIS Capital has a one year low of $53.49 and a one year high of $94.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.04. 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.16. The company 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 prior year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. Analysts predict that AXIS Capital will post 10.83 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is currently 24.41%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its holdings in AXIS Capital by 32.6% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in AXIS Capital by 424.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at $99,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 158.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,308 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.