Prudential Financial Inc. Decreases Stake in Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX)

Prudential Financial Inc. cut its position in shares of Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 133,644 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,240 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Axos Financial were worth $9,335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Axos Financial by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,129,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $428,153,000 after acquiring an additional 49,695 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Axos Financial by 5.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,178,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,877,000 after purchasing an additional 164,997 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Axos Financial by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,874,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,953,000 after purchasing an additional 163,952 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Axos Financial by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,444,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,861,000 after buying an additional 91,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Axos Financial by 34.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,154,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,610,000 after buying an additional 292,952 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Axos Financial Price Performance

AX opened at $63.61 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $67.66 and a 200 day moving average of $70.02. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.55 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Axos Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.10 and a 52-week high of $88.46.

Axos Financial (NYSE:AX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. Axos Financial had a net margin of 22.10% and a return on equity of 18.67%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Axos Financial, Inc. will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Axos Financial from $96.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Axos Financial from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Axos Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Axos Financial from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Axos Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sara Wardell-Smith bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $64.73 per share, with a total value of $194,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $663,482.50. This trade represents a 41.38 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.07% of the company’s stock.

Axos Financial Company Profile

Axos Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides consumer and business banking products in the United States. It operates through two segments, Banking Business and Securities Business. The company offers deposits products, including consumer and business checking, demand, savings, time deposit, money market, zero balance, and insured cash sweep accounts.