American Express (NYSE:AXP) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

American Express (NYSE:AXP) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 8,840,000 shares, a decrease of 5.2% from the September 15th total of 9,320,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,750,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

American Express Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $276.82 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $261.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $243.78. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $286.36. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $199.12 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of several research reports. HSBC downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on 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 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $242.33.

Institutional Trading of American Express

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AXP. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 62.5% in the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. raised its holdings in American Express by 42.2% during the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

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.