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

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 18th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.44 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, October 18th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th.

AXIS Capital has raised its dividend payment by an average of 2.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 23 consecutive years. AXIS Capital has a payout ratio of 15.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect AXIS Capital to earn $11.64 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 15.1%.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXS opened at $79.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.89. AXIS Capital has a one year low of $52.90 and a one year high of $80.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $76.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.60.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.41. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 19.70%. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that AXIS Capital will post 10.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.50.

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.