American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target Raised to $300.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its target price increased by Monness Crespi & Hardt from $265.00 to $300.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on AXP. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $242.33.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $281.67 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $202.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $259.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $243.14. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $281.87.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Express by 119.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,993,000 after buying an additional 21,508 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 6,329 shares in the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,881,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group increased its stake in American Express by 2,196.4% during the 2nd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 7,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 15.5% in the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 35,763 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,143,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.