American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty-four ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have assigned a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $332.65.

Several equities analysts have commented on AXP shares. HSBC set a $295.00 price target on American Express and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded American Express from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial increased their price target on American Express from $375.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price target on American Express from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th.

American Express Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of AXP stock opened at $361.41 on Wednesday. American Express has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $362.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $332.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $308.18. The company has a market cap of $248.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.29.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.98 by $0.16. American Express had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 14.97%.The company had revenue of $18.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. Equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. This trade represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 222,011 shares of company stock valued at $70,725,044 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Express in the third quarter worth $27,000. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the second quarter worth $26,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in American Express in the second quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Express by 210.7% in the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the first quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.