Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Axis Capital Holdings Limited $AXS

Norges Bank purchased a new position in Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 961,816 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $103,001,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXS. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the third quarter worth about $56,705,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 374.7% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 553,565 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $53,032,000 after buying an additional 436,944 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 196.5% in the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 484,619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $46,426,000 after buying an additional 321,145 shares during the last quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension acquired a new stake in shares of Axis Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $25,137,000. Finally, Causeway Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Axis Capital by 31.8% in the third quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 836,861 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $80,171,000 after buying an additional 201,880 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Axis Capital

In related news, Director Henry B. Smith sold 2,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.69, for a total transaction of $250,869.98. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 46,347 shares in the company, valued at $4,573,985.43. The trade was a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Axis Capital Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of AXS opened at $98.70 on Friday. Axis Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $88.07 and a 12-month high of $110.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $99.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.83.

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.09. Axis Capital had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 16.00%.The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Axis Capital Holdings Limited will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Axis Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Axis Capital’s payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AXS. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Axis Capital from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Axis Capital from $115.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Axis Capital from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Mizuho set a $137.00 price objective on Axis Capital in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Axis Capital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.10.

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.