L & S Advisors Inc Buys 12,315 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

L & S Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 97.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,891 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,315 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in American Express were worth $5,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 119.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,993,000 after purchasing an additional 21,508 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 102.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 6,329 shares during the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,881,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its position in American Express by 15.5% during the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 35,763 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,143,000 after acquiring an additional 4,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 49.0% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 279,106 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $63,550,000 after purchasing an additional 91,760 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $261.13 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $246.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $235.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $262.85. The stock has a market cap of $187.83 billion, a PE ratio of 21.51, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.89 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research initiated coverage on American Express in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.70.

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.