American Express (NYSE:AXP) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

American Express (NYSE:AXP) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $276.86 and last traded at $276.25, with a volume of 855480 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $270.47.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $239.96.

American Express Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $256.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $242.07.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. The firm 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth $433,709,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 924.2% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 851,431 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $197,149,000 after buying an additional 768,301 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,923,399,000 after buying an additional 662,382 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $114,990,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in American Express by 71.9% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,164,098 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $269,547,000 after acquiring an additional 486,755 shares during 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.