Monness Crespi & Hardt Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price target raised by Monness Crespi & Hardt from $330.00 to $355.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt currently has a buy rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on AXP. StockNews.com raised shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Compass Point raised their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $294.95.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $315.14 on Monday. American Express has a 1-year low of $199.88 and a 1-year high of $326.27. The stock has a market cap of $222.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $303.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $276.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.