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AXS Lags Industry, Trades at a Discount: Here's How to Play the Stock

Shares of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited AXS have declined 12.1% over the past month against the industry's 2.5% growth. The decline was mainly due to the earnings miss in the second quarter of 2026, as higher catastrophe losses and weather-related losses weakened underwriting profitability. Softer property pricing and increased competition also added pressure. However, AXS Capital's focus on Specialty Insurance, Reinsurance, and Accident & Health, along with an improved portfolio mix and disciplined capital deployment, should support future growth. Shares of other insurers like Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. KNSL have gained 8.5%, while Arch Capital Group Ltd. ACGL and Selective Insurance Group, Inc. SIGI have declined 4.7% and 3.8%, respectively, in the past month. 3- Month Price Performance: AXS, SIGI, ACGL, KNSL & IndustryZacks Investment Research Image Source: Zacks Investment Research AXS' Attractive Valuation Shares of AXIS Capital are trading at a 12-month trailing price-to-book value of 1.23X, which is lower than the industry average of 17.56X. The insurer has a Value Score of A.Zacks Investment Research Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Shares of other insurers like ACGL, SIGI and KNSL are trading at a discount to the industry average. AXS' Average Target Price Suggests Upside Based on short-term price targets offered by 11 analysts, the Zacks average price target is $124.18 per share. The average suggests a potential 22% upside from the last closing price.Zacks Investment Research Image Source: Zacks Investment Research AXS' Growth Projections The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AXIS Capital's 2026 earnings per share (EPS) indicates a year-over-year decrease of 2.6%. The consensus estimate for revenues is pegged at $7 billion, implying a 7% year-over-year improvement. The consensus estimates for 2027 EPS and revenues indicate increases of 8.5% and 6.9%, respectively, from the corresponding 2026 estimates. Earnings have grown 46.1% in the past five years, better than the industry average of 22.7. The expected long-term earnings growth is pegged at 1.9%. Efficient Use of Shareholder Capital Return on equity in the trailing 12 months was 17%, better than the industry average of 7.8%. This highlights the company's efficiency in utilizing shareholders' funds. Factors Acting in Favor of AXS AXIS Capital, a global specialty underwriter, has a strategic focus on specialty products, including professional liability, cyber insurance, marine, aviation, political risk and terrorism coverage. The insurer targets higher-margin, less commoditized segments of the insurance market, allowing it to leverage underwriting expertise, maintain pricing discipline and build strong client relationships. AXS' specialty underwriting focus, broader product capabilities and multichannel distribution support long-term premium growth. Story Continues The Insurance segment is poised to benefit from a diversified portfolio of global specialty businesses. Both the North American and Canadian insurance markets are benefiting from economic stability and rising demand for coverage amid increasing climate and cyber risks. Insurance growth is banking on robust premium growth and underwriting discipline. Gross premiums written increased 15% year over year to $2.2 billion in the second quarter of 2026, while net premiums written rose 6%. AXIS Capital's reinsurance business benefits from disciplined cycle management, an improving business mix and diversified distribution channels that expand market reach and support premium growth. AXIS Capacity Solutions further supports growth by using third-party capital to write larger gross lines while limiting retained risk. The platform generated nearly $4 million in fee income in the second quarter, with about $17 million expected for full-year 2026, adding fee income without a proportional increase in risk exposure. Net investment income has been witnessing improvement over the last few years, as evident from its CAG

Berkshire Hathaway Could Have an Insurance Problem as Underwriting Results Weaken

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SKWD Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates as Premium Growth Accelerates

Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. SKWD delivered a solid second quarter of 2026, with operating earnings per share of $1.30, which increased 46.1% from the year-ago level and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 13%. Total revenues were $489.53 million, which improved 53% year over year and beat the consensus mark by 6.5%. The second-quarter performance reflected strong premium growth and contributions from the Apollo segment, while underwriting remained profitable despite a slight increase in the combined ratio. Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS SurpriseSkyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. Quote SKWD's Premium Base Expanded Across Both Platforms Gross written premiums totaled $740.6 million, up 13.3% from the prior-year period's level. Growth was broad-based, led by a 14.2% increase in the Skyward Specialty segment and a 5.6% rise in the Apollo segment, with Syndicate 1969's gross written premiums increasing 7.7%. Net earned premiums climbed to $444.5 million from $295.5 million a year ago, reflecting higher business volumes and contributions from the Apollo segment. Underwriting fee income of $12.6 million, generated by the Apollo segment, also contributed to the quarter's top-line mix. Net investment income increased to $30.7 million from $18.7 million a year ago, driven by the addition of the Apollo portfolio, a higher yield environment, and a larger invested asset base. Skyward Group's Underwriting Mix Fuels Growth Within Skyward Group's U.S. specialty operations, several underwriting divisions posted notable momentum. Accident & Health gross written premiums increased 57.8% year over year, Credit & Surety rose 15.6%, Global Agriculture advanced 95.8%, and Specialty Programs jumped 29.7%, helping offset declines in Captives, Energy Solutions and Global Property. The Skyward Specialty segment's loss and LAE ratio increased primarily because of shifts in business mix, driven by growth in Accident & Health and Global Agriculture. At the same time, the segment's expense ratio improved, driven by business mix shifts, enhanced operating efficiencies and scale benefits. SKWD's Expenses Losses and loss adjustment expenses amounted to $276.7 million, up from $181.3 million in the prior-year quarter, consistent with the expansion of the premium base. The consolidated loss ratio deteriorated to 62.3% from 61.3% a year ago, primarily reflecting business-mix shifts within the Skyward Specialty segment. Total Cat loss and LAE increased to 1.9% from 1.4% a year ago. Story Continues Underwriting, acquisition and insurance expenses rose to $123.3 million from $85.6 million a year ago, reflecting higher activity levels and a larger operating platform. On the ratio side, net policy acquisition costs increased to 16.0% from 15.1% a year ago, while the total expense ratio improved to 27.2% from 28.1%. The combined ratio increased slightly to 89.5% from 89.4% a year ago. SKWD's Q2 Financials Update On the balance sheet, cash and cash equivalents rose to $219.2 million from $168.5 million as of 2025-end. Total assets reached $6.8 billion as of June 30, 2026, up from $4.8 billion as of 2025-end. Notes payable jumped to $417.6 million from $100.4 million as of 2025-end. Book value per share was approximately $28.55, up 14.6% from the figure as of Dec. 31, 2025. SKWD's Zacks Rank SKWD currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Performance of Other Insurers Here are some stocks from the broader Finance space that have also reported their quarterly results: Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. KNSL, RLI Corp. RLI and Arch Capital Group Ltd. ACGL. Here's how they have performed: Kinsale Capital delivered second-quarter 2026 net operating earnings of $5.54 per share, which outpaced the Zacks Co

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