American Express (NYSE:AXP) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

American Express (NYSE:AXP) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-four brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fifteen have issued a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $296.05.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $302.71 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.08 billion, a PE ratio of 21.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $273.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.10.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Capital & Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $509,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $89,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.