AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS – Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Bank of America from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, FlyOnTheWall reports.
Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Friday, September 8th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.75.
Get Our Latest Report on AXIS Capital
AXIS Capital Price Performance
Shares of AXIS Capital stock opened at $55.66 on Friday. AXIS Capital has a twelve month low of $48.32 and a twelve month high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.86.
AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.46. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 6.85%. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. AXIS Capital’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that AXIS Capital will post 8.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other AXIS Capital news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.50, for a total value of $333,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,758,905. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXIS Capital
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 160.6% in the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 27,100 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,477,000 after acquiring an additional 16,700 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 33,768 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,829,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 900,334 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $49,086,000 after acquiring an additional 9,032 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 34.4% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 48,821 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,662,000 after purchasing an additional 12,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ziegler Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 57.6% in the 1st quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC now owns 18,861 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 6,893 shares during the period. 89.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About AXIS Capital
AXIS Capital Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides various specialty insurance and reinsurance products worldwide. It operates through two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance. The Insurance segment offers property insurance products for commercial buildings, residential premises, construction projects, and onshore energy installations; marine classes covering offshore energy, cargo, liability, kidnap and ransom, fine art, specie, and hull war; and terrorism, aviation, credit and political risk, and liability insurance products.
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