American Express (NYSE:AXP) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

AXP has been the topic of several other research reports. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $286.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Compass Point lifted their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $268.95.

American Express Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $303.08 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $293.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $266.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a one year low of $177.81 and a one year high of $307.82.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in American Express during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Company Profile

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.