AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on AXS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.50.

AXIS Capital Trading Down 8.4 %

Shares of AXS stock opened at $90.68 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.48. AXIS Capital has a fifty-two week low of $60.45 and a fifty-two week high of $101.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.91.

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

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.25%.

Insider Activity

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $199,999,959.50. Following the transaction, the director now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXIS Capital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 48.6% in 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 during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $638,000. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $453,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $100,921,000 after purchasing an additional 43,687 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter worth $300,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.