AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at TD Cowen

TD Cowen began coverage on shares of AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) in a report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $118.00 price objective on the insurance provider’s stock.

AXS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on AXIS Capital from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $88.83.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $78.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $76.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.42. AXIS Capital has a 52 week low of $52.90 and a 52 week high of $82.33. The stock has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.05, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.89.

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

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AXS. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 32.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 55.6% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Gries Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 4.9% during the second quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 3,523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in AXIS Capital by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,212 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 45.9% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 588 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.