AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Given New $100.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) had its price objective hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $97.00 to $100.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on AXS. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $120.00 to $114.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.75.

AXIS Capital Trading Down 2.4 %

NYSE AXS opened at $91.35 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $93.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. AXIS Capital has a twelve month low of $60.45 and a twelve month high of $101.42. The stock has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.40, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.67.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. Equities analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.25%.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In other AXIS Capital news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,959.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,404,133 shares in the company, valued at $224,786,435.50. This trade represents a 47.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AXIS Capital

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AXS. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in AXIS Capital during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AXIS Capital by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in AXIS Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.