Zacks Research Lowers Earnings Estimates for Axis Capital

Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q1 2027 earnings estimates for shares of Axis Capital in a research report issued on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the insurance provider will post earnings per share of $3.40 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $3.41. The consensus estimate for Axis Capital’s current full-year earnings is $13.25 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Axis Capital’s Q2 2027 earnings at $3.70 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho set a $137.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.10.

Axis Capital Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $96.15 on Tuesday. Axis Capital has a 52-week low of $88.07 and a 52-week high of $110.34. The company has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.09. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.17 EPS. Axis Capital’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.11%.

Insider Activity at Axis Capital

In other news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total transaction of $250,869.98. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 46,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,573,985.43. This trade represents a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 5.0% during the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,104 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,597 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 5,390 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 37,119 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,975,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Evoke Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by 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.