American Express (NYSE:AXP) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have assigned a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $230.78.

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on 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 raised 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. Barclays upped their price target on American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock.

American Express Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $271.06 on Tuesday. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $272.68. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $251.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $238.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.33, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.13 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in American Express by 62.5% in the 1st 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. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

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.