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

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, December 6th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of 0.44 per share by the insurance provider on Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st.

AXIS Capital has raised its dividend payment by an average of 2.2% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 23 years. AXIS Capital has a payout ratio of 15.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect AXIS Capital to earn $11.66 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 15.1%.

AXIS Capital Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE AXS traded down $1.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $92.83. 425,022 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 569,642. AXIS Capital has a twelve month low of $53.49 and a twelve month high of $94.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.88, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 10.82%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that AXIS Capital will post 10.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AXIS Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.14.

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.