Analysts Set American Express (NYSE:AXP) Target Price at $267.05

Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty-four brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $272.64.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. Finally, HSBC cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $302.80 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $213.31 billion, a PE ratio of 22.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $295.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $268.42. American Express has a 1 year low of $177.81 and a 1 year high of $307.82.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. InvesTrust purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,249,000. Sterneck Capital Management LLC increased its position in American Express by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. Sterneck Capital Management LLC now owns 1,257 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $314,000. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $361,000. Finally, Doliver Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 3,633 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

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.