By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,080,000 shares, a drop of 5.3% from the November 30th total of 1,140,000 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 550,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its position in AXIS Capital by 32.6% in the second quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 424.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $99,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in AXIS Capital by 158.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,308 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts recently issued reports on AXS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $81.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group increased their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of AXIS Capital from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $89.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.71.
Read Our Latest Research Report on AXS
AXIS Capital Stock Down 0.2 %
Shares of AXIS Capital stock traded down $0.15 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $88.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 270,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 571,641. AXIS Capital has a 52 week low of $53.88 and a 52 week high of $94.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.69. The company has a market capitalization of $7.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.94.
AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 19.24%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that AXIS Capital will post 10.83 earnings per share for the current year.
AXIS Capital Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is currently 24.41%.
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.
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