A portfolio of stocks I'm building, named Ivy, holds 52 dividend dogs. Ivy is the fourth portfolio I've built (at a one dividend dog per week pace) since 2014. Four portfolios = IV!

And today I'm reviewing the fifth financial services stock this week striving to become the seventh of seven from that sector to join my Ivy portfolio.

I'm reviewing a mid-cap insurance- property & casualty named Axis Capital Holdings Ltd. Their trading ticker symbol is AXS.

Axis Capital Holdings Ltd is a global property and casualty insurance company that provides clients and distribution partners with a range of products and services.

The company has operating subsidiaries and branch networks based in Bermuda, the United States, Canada, Europe, and Singapore. Axis also maintains marketing offices in Brazil, France, Spain, and Dubai.

Its business consists of two distinct global underwriting platforms, AXIS Insurance, and AXIS Reinsurance. The company manages its portfolio holistically, aiming to construct an optimum consolidated portfolio of funded and unfunded risks.

The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda.

I use three key data points to gauge dividend-paying equities or funds like Axis Capital Holdings Ltd. (AXS):

(1) Price

(2) Dividends

(3) Returns

Besides those three, several other keys will finally unlock an equity or fund in which to invest.

Those three basic keys, however, best tell whether a company has made, is making, and will make money.

AXS Price

Axis's price per share closed at $62.41 yesterday. A year ago its price was $55.74. Price rose$6.67 or almost 12% in the past year.

Assuming Southside's stock trades in the range of $30.00 to $40.00 this year, Axis's recent $62.41 price could rise by $2.59 and go to $65.00 by August, 2020.

AXS Dividends

Axis's most recent quarterly dividend is $0.40 paid July 15th

That $0.40 Q payout equates to an annual dividend of $1.60 generating a yield of 2.56% based on yesterday's $62.41 closing price.

Gains For AXS?

Adding the $1.60 annual estimated dividend to my $2.59 estimate of Southside's price upside shows a $4.19 potential gross annual gain, per share, which will be reduced by costs to trade those shares.

Say we pay a little under $1,000.00 today at the $62.41 recent stock price, we'd buy 16 Axis Capital Holdings Ltd (AXS) shares.

A $10 broker fee paid half at purchase and half at a sale will cost us $0.63 per share.

Subtract that $0.63 brokerage cost from the estimated $4.19 gross annual gain leaves a net gain of $3.56 X 16 shares = $56.96 or a 5.7% net gain on a $998.56 investment.

Therefore, Axis Capital Holdings Ltd whose trading ticker symbol is AXS now shows a possible net gain of 5.7% including a 2.56% dividend yield.

Ten brokers track Axis Capital Holdings Ltd (AXS) stock:

Four say "buy" AXS

One says AXS will "Outperform" peers

Five say "hold" AXS.

Their consensus score of 2.1 equates to "Outperform."

Now we can look at Axis Capital Holdings Ltd (AXS) and see it has made money, is making money, and could net a 5.7% gain including a 2.56% dividend yield. It could be more, it could be less.

The above speculation is based on past year performance. The actual results remain to be seen to learn if Axis Capital Holdings Ltd (AXS) is worth your time and money.