Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.28 EPS

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.28, FiscalAI reports. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.99% and a net margin of 16.08%.The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.38 earnings per share. Axis Capital’s revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS stock opened at $103.87 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $103.41 and a 200 day moving average of $98.79. Axis Capital has a 1 year low of $84.81 and a 1 year high of $110.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.65.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.55%.

Institutional Trading of Axis Capital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AXS. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Axis Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,941,000. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Axis Capital by 196.5% during the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 484,619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $46,426,000 after buying an additional 321,145 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Axis Capital by 179.8% in the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 117,596 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $11,266,000 after buying an additional 75,564 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Axis Capital in the third quarter worth about $3,460,000. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital during the 3rd quarter worth about $320,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Axis Capital from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $121.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Axis Capital from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.89.

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.