American Express (NYSE:AXP) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

American Express (NYSE:AXP) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty-four analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $296.38.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AXP. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC increased its stake in American Express by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC now owns 3,063 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $909,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. increased its position in American Express by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 4,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,480,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,447,000. Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $371,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $70,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $293.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $213.25 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $307.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $285.86.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

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.