AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (AXS) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.44 on October 18th

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 18th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of 0.44 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, October 18th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th.

AXIS Capital has raised its dividend payment by an average of 2.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 23 consecutive years. AXIS Capital has a payout ratio of 15.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect AXIS Capital to earn $11.64 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.1%.

AXIS Capital Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE AXS opened at $79.27 on Friday. AXIS Capital has a twelve month low of $52.90 and a twelve month high of $80.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.12, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $76.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.60.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.41. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 19.70%. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital will post 10.71 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.50.

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.