Axis Capital’s (AXS) Buy Rating Reiterated at TD Cowen

TD Cowen reiterated their buy rating on shares of Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $130.00 price objective on the insurance provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Atlantic Securities set a $122.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Axis Capital from $131.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings lowered Axis Capital from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Axis Capital from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Axis Capital from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.23.

Axis Capital Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of AXS stock opened at $98.94 on Tuesday. Axis Capital has a one year low of $88.07 and a one year high of $119.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $107.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.96. The stock has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.50.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.25 by ($0.41). The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.29 EPS. Analysts predict that Axis Capital will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axis Capital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VELA Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 7.2% during the second quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 51,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,534,000 after buying an additional 3,474 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,279,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Axis Capital by 9,953.8% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 9,297,106 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $998,881,000 after acquiring an additional 9,204,632 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in Axis Capital by 33.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,712 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Axis Capital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $485,000. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.