Axos Financial (NYSE:AX) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on the stock from $91.00 to $90.00. The stock had previously closed at $72.40, but opened at $70.51. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Axos Financial shares last traded at $69.71, with a volume of 85,133 shares trading hands.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com raised Axos Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Axos Financial from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gregory Garrabrants sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.89, for a total value of $10,236,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,340,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $109,763,472.53. This represents a 8.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Edward James Ratinoff sold 4,002 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.41, for a total transaction of $317,798.82. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,669,456.69. This trade represents a 7.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Axos Financial by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 281,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,711,000 after purchasing an additional 32,095 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its holdings in Axos Financial by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 453,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,512,000 after buying an additional 39,091 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Axos Financial by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 142,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,974,000 after buying an additional 35,087 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Axos Financial by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 109,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,915,000 after acquiring an additional 25,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Axos Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $9,849,000. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axos Financial Stock Down 5.0 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $74.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.33 and a beta of 1.46.

Axos Financial (NYSE:AX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. Axos Financial had a net margin of 24.07% and a return on equity of 18.99%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Axos Financial, Inc. will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current year.

About Axos Financial

Axos Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides consumer and business banking products in the United States. It operates through two segments, Banking Business and Securities Business. The company offers deposits products, including consumer and business checking, demand, savings, time deposit, money market, zero balance, and insured cash sweep accounts.