American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its target price hoisted by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $300.00 to $340.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the payment services company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential upside of 12.18% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on AXP. Hsbc Global Res downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $268.95.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $303.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $213.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 52-week low of $177.81 and a 52-week high of $307.82. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $293.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 71.6% during the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $586,000 after buying an additional 1,056 shares in the last quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 8,899 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,949 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $914,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 2nd quarter worth $1,892,000. Finally, Columbia Asset Management lifted its stake in American Express by 2.4% in the second quarter. Columbia Asset Management now owns 13,869 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,211,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. 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.