American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

American Express (NYSE:AXP) shares gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $285.78, but opened at $276.80. American Express shares last traded at $271.50, with a volume of 2,400,065 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $226.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $242.33.

American Express Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $199.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $261.27 and a 200-day moving average of $243.90.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $433,709,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 924.2% during the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 851,431 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $197,149,000 after purchasing an additional 768,301 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,923,399,000 after purchasing an additional 662,382 shares during the period. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth $114,990,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in American Express by 71.9% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,164,098 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $269,547,000 after buying an additional 486,755 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.