American Express (NYSE:AXP) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in a research note published on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on American Express from $159.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price target on American Express from $132.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an outperform rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on American Express from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on American Express from $128.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $175.44.

American Express Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $156.52 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $116.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $168.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. American Express has a twelve month low of $130.65 and a twelve month high of $194.35.

American Express (NYSE:AXP – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 27th. The payment services company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.18 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.25 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 31.76% and a net margin of 14.16%. The company’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.18 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 11.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, March 8th that permits the company to repurchase 120,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the payment services company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 7th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 5th. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 21.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 5,456 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.52, for a total value of $952,181.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,229,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Denise Pickett sold 28,688 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total transaction of $5,186,216.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,270,054.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 5,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.52, for a total transaction of $952,181.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,045 shares in the company, valued at $1,229,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 49,361 shares of company stock valued at $8,773,678. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Macroview Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Elequin Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 239.0% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 200 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, My Personal CFO LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 83.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Company Profile

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American Express Co engages in the provision of charge and credit card products and travel-related services. It operates through the following segments: U.S Consumer Services (USCS), Commercial Services (CS), International Card Services (ICS), Global Merchant and Network Services (GMNS), and Corporate and Other.