AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.41 EPS

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The insurance provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.41, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 20.11% and a net margin of 11.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.23 EPS.

AXIS Capital Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of AXS traded down $1.28 on Thursday, hitting $74.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 309,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 605,390. AXIS Capital has a fifty-two week low of $52.90 and a fifty-two week high of $78.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $71.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.90.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on AXS. StockNews.com raised AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their price target on AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $86.00 price target on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stanley A. Galanski purchased 2,000 shares of AXIS Capital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $71.43 per share, with a total value of $142,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $840,231.09. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Michael Millegan acquired 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $71.49 per share, for a total transaction of $100,086.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,553.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Stanley A. Galanski acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $71.43 per share, for a total transaction of $142,860.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 11,763 shares in the company, valued at $840,231.09. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 6,425 shares of company stock valued at $444,351 in the last quarter. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.