AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.41 EPS

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The insurance provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.41, Briefing.com reports. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.11% and a net margin of 10.34%. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.23 EPS. AXIS Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis.

AXIS Capital Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of AXS traded up $1.96 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $76.43. The stock had a trading volume of 185,561 shares, compared to its average volume of 601,059. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.90. AXIS Capital has a 1-year low of $52.90 and a 1-year high of $78.23.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director W Marston Becker purchased 3,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.58 per share, for a total transaction of $201,404.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 21,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,452,842.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director W Marston Becker purchased 3,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.58 per share, for a total transaction of $201,404.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 21,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,452,842.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael Millegan bought 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $71.49 per share, for a total transaction of $100,086.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,016 shares in the company, valued at $644,553.84. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 6,425 shares of company stock worth $444,351 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $86.00 target price on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Monday, June 17th. StockNews.com raised AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Bank of America raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.83.

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.