Yahoo Finance AXIS Capital (AXS) Okays Buyback to Boost Shareholder Return
The board of directors of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited AXS authorized a share buyback program to return more value to investors. The latest authorization will allow the company to spend up to $300 million to repurchase its common stock.
The new program is in addition to the previously approved $100 million share repurchase program. After buying back $76 million worth of shares in the first quarter of 2024 and another $2 million worth in April, the insurer had $36 million remaining under its previous authorization. With the new authorization, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) specialty insurer has $336 million remaining in its kitty.
Axis Capital has an impressive history of distributing wealth to shareholders via dividends and share buybacks. While the insurer prioritizes investing in growth initiatives that ramp up specialty businesses, it has also hiked its dividend for 18 consecutive years. The insurer boasts one of the highest dividend yields among its peers.
Intensified focus on specialty lines, continuous investment in growth areas, including wholesale insurance and lower middle markets, exit from the volatile catastrophe and property reinsurance space, reduction of risk exposure and focus on accident and health, casualty, credit and surety, and specialty reinsurance lines should help the insurer deliver impressive results. These, in turn, should also poise the company well with sufficient liquidity and aid in boosting shareholders' value.
Shares of AXIS Capital have rallied 28.4% year to date, outperforming the industry’s increase of 16.1%.
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Stocks to Consider
Some top-ranked stocks from the insurance space are The Allstate Corporation ALL, Arch Capital Group Ltd ACGL and RLI Corp RLI, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Allstate delivered a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 41.88%. The stock has gained 21.6% year to date. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALL’s 2024 and 2025 earnings indicates a year-over-year increase of 1,479% and 13.8%, respectively.
Arch Capital delivered a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 28.41%. The stock has gained 34.6% year to date. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ACGL’s 2024 and 2025 earnings indicates a year-over-year increase of 0.7% and 5.8%, respectively.
RLI delivered a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 132.49%. The stock has gained 11% year to date. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RLI’s 2024 and 2025 earnings indicates a year-over-year increase of 18% and 2.6%, respectively.
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RLI Corp. (RLI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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Arch Capital Group Ltd. (ACGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
