American Express (NYSE:AXP) Short Interest Up 6.0% in August

American Express (NYSE:AXP) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,420,000 shares, a growth of 6.0% from the July 31st total of 8,890,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,780,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on AXP shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. BTIG Research started coverage on American Express in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Citigroup started coverage on American Express in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on American Express from $240.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.70.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $1.19 during trading on Monday, reaching $258.65. The stock had a trading volume of 3,442,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,963,972. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $261.75. The stock has a market cap of $183.88 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $242.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of American Express

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.