Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) Price Target to $125.00

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its price target lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $131.00 to $125.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Atlantic Securities set a $122.00 target price on Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Axis Capital from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Axis Capital from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Capital One Financial set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Axis Capital in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.50.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

NYSE AXS opened at $104.65 on Tuesday. Axis Capital has a fifty-two week low of $88.07 and a fifty-two week high of $119.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.43, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The insurance provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.25 by ($0.41). The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.74 billion. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 16.23%.The company’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Axis Capital will post 12.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Axis Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axis Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXS. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 12.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 63,457 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,361,000 after buying an additional 7,023 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Axis Capital by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 205,553 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,605,000 after acquiring an additional 12,680 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Axis Capital by 86.2% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 47,277 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,739,000 after acquiring an additional 21,892 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 42.1% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 10,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,044,000 after purchasing an additional 3,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Axis Capital by 33.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Axis Capital Company 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.