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

American Express (NYSE:AXP) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-four research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fifteen have issued a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $295.05.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research cut their target price on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, HSBC upped their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

American Express Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $302.28 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $264.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.55. The company has a market cap of $211.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.91%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

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.