Foundry Partners LLC Invests $3.50 Million in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 63,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,503,000. Foundry Partners LLC owned approximately 0.07% of AXIS Capital as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 89.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,230,822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $69,381,000 after buying an additional 581,409 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 2.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,632,025 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $486,587,000 after acquiring an additional 207,233 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,026,000. UBS Group AG raised its position in AXIS Capital by 165.7% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 168,214 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,482,000 after purchasing an additional 104,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in AXIS Capital during the third quarter worth about $5,767,000. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXIS Capital stock opened at $62.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $51.61 and a 12-month high of $65.86.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.25) by $4.19. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 6.67%. As a group, equities analysts expect that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stanley A. Galanski acquired 7,000 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $58.45 per share, with a total value of $409,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,763 shares in the company, valued at $570,647.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AXS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.33.

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.