Zacks Research Has Weak Outlook for AXIS Capital Q1 Earnings

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) – Research analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for AXIS Capital in a research note issued to investors on Monday, March 10th. Zacks Research analyst T. De now expects that the insurance provider will post earnings per share of $2.62 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.69. The consensus estimate for AXIS Capital’s current full-year earnings is $11.19 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for AXIS Capital’s Q3 2025 earnings at $2.59 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $3.04 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $11.22 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.60 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.99 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $12.37 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $14.55 EPS.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.88.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

AXS stock opened at $91.48 on Wednesday. AXIS Capital has a 52-week low of $60.45 and a 52-week high of $98.11. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,959.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at $224,786,435.50. The trade was a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the third quarter worth about $247,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the third quarter worth about $507,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 2.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,394,491 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $111,015,000 after acquiring an additional 33,241 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the third quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 0.4% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 31,785 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,542,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.