American Express (NYSE:AXP) Receives $242.33 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-five analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $253.09.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Apella Capital LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth approximately $204,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 18.1% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 16,834 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,833,000 after purchasing an additional 2,578 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth approximately $215,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth approximately $313,000. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 1.1% during the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,075,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $267.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a market cap of $192.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.01, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52-week low of $141.02 and a 52-week high of $286.36. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $263.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $245.09.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company 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 1.05%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

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.