American Express (NYSE:AXP) Cut to “Sell” at BTIG Research

BTIG Research lowered shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $230.00 price objective on the payment services company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a neutral rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $239.96.

American Express Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $276.16 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $255.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $241.60. The stock has a market cap of $196.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. 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 has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $277.11.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. American Express’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 20.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 62.5% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.