Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Acquires New Stake in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 31,543 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,511,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 8,717.0% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,361,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $96,172,000 after buying an additional 1,345,811 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in AXIS Capital by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,625,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $129,371,000 after acquiring an additional 318,784 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 1,644.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 240,754 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,009,000 after acquiring an additional 226,956 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 9.0% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,583,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $182,538,000 after purchasing an additional 213,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 12.5% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,417,464 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,144,000 after purchasing an additional 157,110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of AXIS Capital from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $78.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America lifted their target price on AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group increased their price target on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on AXIS Capital from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.71.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

NYSE:AXS opened at $92.52 on Wednesday. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $53.49 and a 12-month high of $94.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $85.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.16. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 10.82%. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 24.41%.

AXIS Capital 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.