AXIS Capital (AXS) Set to Announce Earnings on Wednesday

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) will release its earnings data after the market closes on Wednesday, May 1st. Analysts expect AXIS Capital to post earnings of $2.68 per share for the quarter. Individual that wish to listen to the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.25) by $4.19. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. AXIS Capital had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 6.67%. On average, analysts expect AXIS Capital to post $10 EPS for the current fiscal year and $11 EPS for the next fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

Shares of AXS opened at $62.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $62.66 and its 200-day moving average is $58.40. AXIS Capital has a one year low of $51.61 and a one year high of $65.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. AXIS Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on AXS shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com lowered AXIS Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AXIS Capital has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stanley A. Galanski bought 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $58.45 per share, for a total transaction of $409,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,647.35. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.