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

American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $334.30.

Several equities analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 9th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Wolfe Research started coverage on American Express in a research note on Monday, December 8th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total value of $1,753,650.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,709,739.98. This represents a 39.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Elizabeth Rutledge sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.21, for a total transaction of $18,010,500.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 85,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,825,691.17. This trade represents a 36.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 57,515 shares of company stock valued at $20,658,509 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AXP. Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Express in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,897,335,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in American Express by 31,595.9% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,742,009 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $555,666,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,513 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 11.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,487,316 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,282,984,000 after acquiring an additional 1,349,746 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,970,416 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,310,515,000 after acquiring an additional 845,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Provident Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 136.6% in the 2nd quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 1,108,971 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $353,740,000 after acquiring an additional 640,214 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $375.43 on Thursday. 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 fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $387.49. The stock has a market cap of $258.61 billion, a PE ratio of 25.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $357.90 and a 200-day moving average of $330.13.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $17.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue 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 research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

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.