American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

American Express (NYSE:AXP) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Compass Point increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $272.64.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock traded down $8.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $294.09. 2,684,923 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,238,008. The company has a market capitalization of $207.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 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. The company has a 50-day moving average of $296.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $269.36. American Express has a twelve month low of $177.81 and a twelve month high of $307.82.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Auxier Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,934,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 422 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by 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.