American Express (NYSE:AXP) Sets New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• American Express's share price reached a new 52-week high of $336.04, indicating strong market performance.
• Analysts have varied opinions on the stock, with price targets ranging from $277.00 (sell rating) to $375.00 (buy rating), with an average target of $315.20.
• The recent financial results showcased an earnings per share of $4.08, surpassing expectations and marking a 9.3% revenue increase compared to the previous year.

American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $334.52 and last traded at $336.04, with a volume of 292648 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $327.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXP. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on shares of American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.20.

American Express Price Performance

The company's 50 day moving average price is $314.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $293.40. The stock has a market cap of $236.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American Express in the second quarter worth $1,897,335,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth $1,454,667,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in American Express by 13.7% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $4,849,777,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168,445 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 27,625.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,846 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $581,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155,045 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 31,595.9% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,742,009 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $555,666,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,513 shares during the period. 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.