AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.44

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 20th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of 0.44 per share by the insurance provider on Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st.

AXIS Capital has increased its dividend by an average of 1.4% annually over the last three years. AXIS Capital has a payout ratio of 14.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect AXIS Capital to earn $12.33 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 14.3%.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS opened at $92.57 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.28. AXIS Capital has a 12 month low of $60.06 and a 12 month high of $94.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.95.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. As a group, analysts predict that AXIS Capital will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXIS Capital

In other news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $199,999,922.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,543,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $406,613,715. This represents a 32.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.