Short Interest in American Express (NYSE:AXP) Decreases By 5.9%

American Express (NYSE:AXP) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,080,000 shares, a decrease of 5.9% from the May 15th total of 8,590,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,860,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.30.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Express

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $229.31 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $164.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The business’s 50 day moving average is $233.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.13. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $244.41.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

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.