American Express (NYSE:AXP) Given New $270.00 Price Target at BTIG Research

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its target price increased by investment analysts at BTIG Research from $266.00 to $270.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday. The firm currently has a “sell” rating on the payment services company’s stock. BTIG Research’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 14.66% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Hsbc Global Res downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Compass Point upped their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $281.00.

American Express Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of AXP traded down $9.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $316.37. 2,650,853 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,514,129. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a 1 year low of $186.43 and a 1 year high of $326.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $301.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $274.06.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in American Express in the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth about $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.