Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price objective raised by Citigroup from $305.00 to $320.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the payment services company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 1.19% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently commented on AXP. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Compass Point reduced their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $291.50.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $316.23 on Tuesday. American Express has a 52 week low of $199.07 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $302.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $275.17. The firm has a market cap of $222.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 105.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 19,400 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $214,000. Ascent Group LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 6,121 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,417,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in American Express by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in American Express in the second quarter worth about $330,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

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.