Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Increases Stock Holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,087,602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,583 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $116,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Axis Capital in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new stake in Axis Capital in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Axis Capital in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in Axis Capital in the fourth quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Axis Capital in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXS has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Axis Capital from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered Axis Capital from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Mizuho set a $137.00 target price on Axis Capital in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.10.

Axis Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXS opened at $103.32 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a PE ratio of 7.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.51. 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 Holdings Limited has a fifty-two week low of $88.07 and a fifty-two week high of $110.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $101.81.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. Axis Capital had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 13.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Axis Capital news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total value of $250,869.98. Following the sale, the director owned 46,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,573,985.43. This 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 link. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Profile

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.