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 report issued on Tuesday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on AXP. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research note on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $209.52.

American Express Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $237.10 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $222.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.63. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $240.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 210,920 shares of company stock worth $45,804,652. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 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.