AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,320,000 shares, a growth of 12.8% from the September 15th total of 1,170,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 528,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AXS. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group upped their target price on AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Bank of America raised their price target on AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on AXIS Capital in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $118.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.86.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 32.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in AXIS Capital by 55.6% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Gries Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 4.9% during the second quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 3,523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,212 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of AXIS Capital by 45.9% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 588 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXS opened at $81.64 on Thursday. AXIS Capital has a twelve month low of $52.90 and a twelve month high of $82.40. The company has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $77.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.41. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.70% and a net margin of 11.28%. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that AXIS Capital will post 10.72 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.91%.

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.