American Express (NYSE:AXP) Upgraded at StockNews.com

American Express (NYSE:AXP) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on AXP. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Stephens raised American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 8th. HSBC upped their price target on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.52.

American Express Stock Up 0.1 %

AXP opened at $239.23 on Tuesday. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $240.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $221.62 and its 200-day moving average is $190.53. The company has a market capitalization of $172.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 12.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available 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 that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 in the last 90 days. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AXP. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in American Express by 26.8% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 6,018 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,370,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $201,000. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its position in American Express by 34.5% in the 1st quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 7,233 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,647,000 after buying an additional 1,854 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $217,000. Finally, Conscious Wealth Investments LLC boosted its position in American Express by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC now owns 14,935 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,261,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.