American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Compass Point Analyst Says

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price target raised by analysts at Compass Point from $315.00 to $325.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the payment services company’s stock. Compass Point’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 8.82% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $263.68.

American Express Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of AXP opened at $298.65 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.38 billion, a PE ratio of 21.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s fifty day moving average is $288.92 and its 200 day moving average is $261.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $177.81 and a fifty-two week high of $307.82.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its position in American Express by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,478 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $805,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 13.7% during the second quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,964 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 47.6% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 592 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC raised its stake in American Express by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 7,209 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in American Express by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.