American Express (NYSE:AXP) Receives $230.78 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have assigned a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $230.78.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Bank of America increased their price objective on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd.

American Express Stock Up 0.7 %

American Express stock opened at $268.11 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $250.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $238.05. The stock has a market cap of $190.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $272.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that American Express will post 13.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 16.1% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 8,902 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in American Express by 47.4% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,405 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in American Express by 2.2% during the second quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 33,620 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $7,785,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the second quarter valued at about $332,000. Finally, Lazari Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 3.2% in the second quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,643 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.