AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Issues Earnings Results

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.11% and a net margin of 10.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.33 EPS.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 0.3 %

AXIS Capital stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $65.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 682,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 646,238. AXIS Capital has a 52-week low of $51.61 and a 52-week high of $66.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.01, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.73.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stanley A. Galanski bought 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $58.45 per share, with a total value of $409,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,647.35. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AXS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group increased their target price on AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on AXIS Capital from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.33.

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.