Brokerages Set American Express (NYSE:AXP) Target Price at $230.70

American Express (NYSE:AXP) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $230.70.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AXP. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $251.73 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $244.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.78. The firm has a market cap of $181.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.74, a PEG ratio of 1.45 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 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $261.75.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.89 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AXP. Ieq Capital LLC raised its stake in American Express by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 23,030 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,314,000 after purchasing an additional 2,319 shares in the last quarter. US Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $657,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,098,000. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Express by 119.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,993,000 after acquiring an additional 21,508 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 102.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after acquiring an additional 6,329 shares in the last quarter. 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.