American Express (NYSE:AXP) PT Raised to $250.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price target lifted by Barclays from $223.00 to $250.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. HSBC cut American Express from a buy rating to a hold rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $239.96.

American Express Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $270.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $194.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $276.79. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $255.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $241.40. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. American Express’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Institutional Trading of American Express

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 2.7% in the third quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.4% during the second quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,404,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Davis Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.5% during the third quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 8,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,170,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Willner & Heller LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 4.1% in the second quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.