American Express (NYSE:AXP) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $336.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of American Express from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American Express from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded American Express from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $332.65.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $361.47 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $336.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $311.54. The firm has a market cap of $249.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.26, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.61. American Express has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $365.75.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $18.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.03 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 14.97%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.01%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total transaction of $1,753,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,709,739.98. The trade was a 39.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 160,290 shares of company stock valued at $52,364,898 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AXP. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at $509,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,787 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,364,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in American Express by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 60,634 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $16,314,000 after buying an additional 3,776 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in American Express by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 107,499 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $28,923,000 after acquiring an additional 7,874 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in American Express by 2.2% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,267,377 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $721,525,000 after acquiring an additional 49,593 shares during the last quarter. 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.