American Express (NYSE:AXP) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stephens raised American Express from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and lifted their price target for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. DZ Bank lowered American Express from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $209.52.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $235.60 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $222.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $191.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.99 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 issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 210,920 shares of company stock worth $45,804,652. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AXP. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 8.3% during the first quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth $51,000. Coastline Trust Co grew its holdings in American Express by 14.6% during the first quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 25,405 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,784,000 after buying an additional 3,239 shares in the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 5.0% during the first quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 4,431 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,009,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantum Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 29.3% during the first quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. 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.