HSBC Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at HSBC from $270.00 to $294.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday. The brokerage presently has a "hold" rating on the payment services company's stock. HSBC's price objective would indicate a potential downside of 8.37% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Hsbc Global Res lowered American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $281.00.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP traded down $5.00 during trading on Friday, reaching $320.87. 6,256,039 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,894,205. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $302.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $274.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 1 year low of $186.43 and a 1 year high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. As a group, research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in American Express by 105.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,000 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 19,400 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 31.2% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 109,198 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $25,285,000 after acquiring an additional 25,937 shares in the last quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the second quarter worth approximately $439,000. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the second quarter valued at approximately $9,352,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in American Express by 0.4% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 446,748 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $103,444,000 after purchasing an additional 1,713 shares during the last quarter. 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.