American Express (NYSE:AXP) PT Raised to $243.00 at Evercore ISI

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price target increased by analysts at Evercore ISI from $229.00 to $243.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “in-line” rating on the payment services company’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.05% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Stephens raised shares of American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $167.00 to $205.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.84.

American Express Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of AXP traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $226.99. The company had a trading volume of 497,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,129,542. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $210.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $231.69. The stock has a market cap of $164.31 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16 billion. American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Express

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Sachetta LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 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.