AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) in a research report released on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a market perform rating and a $93.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on AXS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised AXIS Capital from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $78.00 to $89.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group upped their price objective 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 raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.25.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:AXS opened at $88.35 on Monday. AXIS Capital has a 12-month low of $53.88 and a 12-month high of $94.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.92. The firm has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.95.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital will post 10.83 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is currently 24.41%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AXS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,075,087 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $287,909,000 after buying an additional 152,914 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 9.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,583,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $182,538,000 after acquiring an additional 213,559 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in AXIS Capital by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,675,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $134,110,000 after purchasing an additional 112,536 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised 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 valued at $129,371,000 after purchasing an additional 318,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,417,464 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $100,144,000 after purchasing an additional 157,110 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.