American Express (NYSE:AXP) Upgraded to "Buy (B-)" at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• American Express has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Weiss Ratings, reflecting positive sentiment among analysts.
• Despite the upgrade, American Express stock is currently down 1.3%, trading at $323.86, which is below its recent 50-day and 200-day moving average prices.
• A consensus rating for the stock remains at "Hold," with several target price adjustments from various analysts, indicating varied outlooks on its future performance.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Weiss Ratings from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on American Express and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $323.55.

American Express Stock Down 1.3%

AXP stock traded down $4.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $323.86. 2,182,750 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,869,164. The stock has a market cap of $225.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.29. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $349.19. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $320.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $299.26.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total transaction of $5,011,520.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,653,764.83. The trade was a 65.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in American Express by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,425,262 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $14,808,730,000 after buying an additional 581,369 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in American Express by 13.7% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $4,849,777,000 after buying an additional 2,168,445 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in American Express by 11.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,487,316 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $4,282,984,000 after buying an additional 1,349,746 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of American Express during the second quarter valued at about $1,897,335,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at about $1,454,667,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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