StockNews.com Upgrades American Express (NYSE:AXP) to Buy

American Express (NYSE:AXP) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on AXP. Compass Point boosted their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $272.64.

American Express Trading Down 2.9 %

NYSE AXP opened at $294.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $207.17 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 52 week low of $177.81 and a 52 week high of $307.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $296.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $269.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 430.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 9.8% during the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group grew its holdings in American Express by 2,196.4% in the 2nd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after buying an additional 7,885 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI increased its stake in shares of American Express by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $655,137,000 after acquiring an additional 247,864 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.