AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Price Target Raised to $96.00

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its price target hoisted by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $94.00 to $96.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target indicates a potential upside of 15.41% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on AXS. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $118.00 target price for the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.86.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 3.9 %

AXIS Capital stock traded up $3.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $83.18. 124,408 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 576,168. AXIS Capital has a 1 year low of $53.14 and a 1 year high of $84.84. The firm has a market cap of $6.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $79.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.94.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 19.24%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AXIS Capital will post 10.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of AXIS Capital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AXS. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 8,717.0% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,361,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $96,172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345,811 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 30.7% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,321,271 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $150,928,000 after purchasing an additional 545,546 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. bought a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $17,065,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 1,644.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 240,754 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,009,000 after purchasing an additional 226,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,583,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $182,538,000 after purchasing an additional 213,559 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by 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.