Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stake in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 2.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,318,914 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 74,567 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Axis Capital were worth $317,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Axis Capital in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Smithfield Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Axis Capital by 94.0% during the second quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axis Capital during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the second quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Axis Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Compass Point set a $121.00 price target on Axis Capital in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Axis Capital from $121.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $122.00 target price on shares of Axis Capital in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.00.

Axis Capital Stock Performance

Shares of Axis Capital stock opened at $103.46 on Friday. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12 month low of $84.81 and a 12 month high of $110.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.18.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.28. Axis Capital had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 18.72%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Axis Capital’s payout ratio is 14.21%.

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.