AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.17 EPS

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The insurance provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 19.11%. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.33 EPS.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXS opened at $65.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $62.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.00, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.80. AXIS Capital has a 52 week low of $51.61 and a 52 week high of $66.74.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stanley A. Galanski bought 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $58.45 per share, for a total transaction of $409,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,647.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.