AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Price Target Raised to $119.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its price objective boosted by Jefferies Financial Group from $116.00 to $119.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on AXS. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on AXIS Capital from $120.00 to $114.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.75.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

AXIS Capital stock opened at $92.86 on Friday. AXIS Capital has a one year low of $60.45 and a one year high of $101.42. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.07. The company has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a PE ratio of 7.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.67.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AXIS Capital will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $199,999,959.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at $224,786,435.50. The trade was a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in AXIS Capital by 48.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 371,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,070,000 after buying an additional 121,437 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $638,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,267,338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $100,921,000 after buying an additional 43,687 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC bought a new position in AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $300,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $549,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

About AXIS Capital

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.