American Express (NYSE:AXP) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

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

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on AXP. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. HSBC lifted their price objective on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $208.24.

American Express Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE AXP opened at $232.88 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.57 billion, a PE ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $235.37. The business’s 50-day moving average is $220.47 and its 200 day moving average is $189.56.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.39% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CIC Wealth LLC raised its position in American Express by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. CIC Wealth LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC grew its stake in American Express by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 6,330 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,441,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in American Express by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in American Express by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Express by 62.5% in the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

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.