AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.44

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 20th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.44 per share by the insurance provider on Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st.

AXIS Capital has increased its dividend payment by an average of 1.4% annually over the last three years. AXIS Capital has a dividend payout ratio of 14.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect AXIS Capital to earn $12.33 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 14.3%.

AXIS Capital Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE AXS opened at $91.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.42. AXIS Capital has a twelve month low of $60.06 and a twelve month high of $94.89. The company has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.44, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.95.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 18.16%. Research analysts forecast that AXIS Capital will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on AXIS Capital from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.88.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,234,636 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,922.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,543,170 shares in the company, valued at $406,613,715. The trade was a 32.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.