Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) Stock Breaks Below 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) shares passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $101.97 and traded as low as $100.68. Axis Capital shares last traded at $101.2470, with a volume of 722,965 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AXS shares. Atlantic Securities set a $122.00 price target on Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Axis Capital from $126.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Capital One Financial set a $108.00 price objective on Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Axis Capital from $131.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Axis Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.08.

Axis Capital Stock Down 1.0%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $98.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.97. The company has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.85 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.00%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 12.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AXS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 8.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,682,238 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $373,412,000 after buying an additional 299,573 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 1.2% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 14.0% in the first quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,362,091 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $138,130,000 after buying an additional 167,337 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 2.2% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,071,887 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $108,700,000 after buying an additional 23,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 31.4% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 979,944 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $99,376,000 after buying an additional 234,353 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Company Profile

Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE: AXS) is a Bermuda-based specialty insurance and reinsurance company. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides coverage and risk-management solutions for businesses, institutions and other insurers facing complex or difficult-to-place risks.

AXIS offers a range of commercial property and casualty insurance products, including professional liability, cyber, marine, aviation, energy, environmental, political risk, credit and surety, and accident and health coverage.