AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.17 EPS

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The insurance provider reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.11% and a net margin of 10.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE AXS traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $65.39. The stock had a trading volume of 682,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 646,238. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. AXIS Capital has a 1-year low of $51.61 and a 1-year high of $66.74. The company has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.01, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $62.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.73.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Stanley A. Galanski acquired 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $58.45 per share, for a total transaction of $409,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,763 shares in the company, valued at $570,647.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Company 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.