American Express (NYSE:AXP) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

American Express (NYSE:AXP) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-six research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fifteen have given a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $303.52.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th.

American Express Stock Down 0.1 %

American Express stock opened at $270.48 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $190.02 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $298.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AXP. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its position in American Express by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Auxier Asset Management increased its position in American Express by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Abel Hall LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is 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.