Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $110.81 and last traded at $108.7850, with a volume of 44058 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $109.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Mizuho set a $137.00 price objective on Axis Capital in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Axis Capital from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Axis Capital from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Axis Capital from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.10.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $100.32 and its 200 day moving average is $102.18. The stock has a market cap of $8.18 billion, a PE ratio of 8.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.09. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.17 EPS. Axis Capital’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.25 EPS for the current year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.11%.

Insider Transactions at Axis Capital

In other Axis Capital news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total transaction of $250,869.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 46,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,573,985.43. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Axis Capital

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,592,270 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $491,786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,579 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 8.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,682,238 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $373,412,000 after purchasing an additional 299,573 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Axis Capital by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,710,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $173,504,000 after buying an additional 21,001 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Axis Capital by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,631,198 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $170,069,000 after buying an additional 15,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Axis Capital by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,387,004 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $148,565,000 after buying an additional 10,246 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.