Bank of America Upgrades American Express (NYSE:AXP) to “Buy”

American Express (NYSE:AXP) was upgraded by analysts at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $274.00 price target on the payment services company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $325.00. Bank of America‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 8.96% from the stock’s previous close.

AXP has been the subject of several other reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Argus cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.81.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $251.46 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $279.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $288.26. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $216.12 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The stock has a market cap of $176.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 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.