Short Interest in American Express (NYSE:AXP) Declines By 5.5%

American Express (NYSE:AXP) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,350,000 shares, a decline of 5.5% from the September 30th total of 8,840,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,750,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Express

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AXP. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 2.7% in the third quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners increased its holdings in American Express by 10.5% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 422 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 0.4% during the second quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,404,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,227 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.

American Express Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of AXP stock traded down $3.55 on Thursday, hitting $270.53. 994,230 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,911,742. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $143.07 and a fifty-two week high of $286.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $265.14 and a 200 day moving average of $246.71.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.60%.

About American Express

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.