Interval Partners LP Buys 94,447 Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Interval Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) by 1,391.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,235 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 94,447 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP owned about 0.12% of AXIS Capital worth $6,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AXIS Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,845,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 30.7% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,321,271 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $150,928,000 after buying an additional 545,546 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 185.1% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 488,556 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,051,000 after buying an additional 317,169 shares during the last quarter. Scout Investments Inc. increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 61.3% during the first quarter. Scout Investments Inc. now owns 550,215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,769,000 after buying an additional 209,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in AXIS Capital by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 989,689 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,799,000 after buying an additional 204,389 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $74.47. The stock had a trading volume of 474,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 603,925. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $71.34 and a 200-day moving average of $65.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.90. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $52.90 and a 12-month high of $75.00.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 19.11%. AXIS Capital’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 10.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 26.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of AXIS Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.83.

Insider Activity at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Michael Millegan bought 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $71.49 per share, with a total value of $100,086.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 9,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,553.84. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other AXIS Capital news, Director Stanley A. Galanski acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $71.43 per share, for a total transaction of $142,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $840,231.09. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael Millegan acquired 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $71.49 per share, with a total value of $100,086.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,553.84. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 6,425 shares of company stock valued at $444,351. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.