American Express (NYSE:AXP) Given “Buy” Rating at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer reiterated their buy rating on shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in a report published on Friday, TipRanks reports. Oppenheimer currently has a $212.00 price target on the payment services company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Edward Jones upgraded shares of American Express from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, June 6th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of American Express from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $213.00 to $146.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 12th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a hold rating for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $218.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, March 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Monday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $192.89.

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $6.56 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $154.42. The stock had a trading volume of 2,733,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,500,811. American Express has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $199.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $170.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.79.

American Express (NYSE:AXP – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 22nd. The payment services company reported $2.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.30. American Express had a net margin of 17.49% and a return on equity of 33.35%. The business had revenue of $11.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 9.75 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 30th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.84%.

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 48,160 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.38, for a total transaction of $8,590,780.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,580,618.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Theodore Leonsis sold 4,005 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.63, for a total transaction of $667,353.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SBK Financial Inc. acquired a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 873.3% during the first quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 823.5% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.49% of the company’s stock.

American Express Company Profile (Get Rating)

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides charge and credit payment card products, and travel-related services worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Global Consumer Services Group, Global Commercial Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services. Its products and services include payment and financing products; network services; accounts payable expense management products and services; and travel and lifestyle services.

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