Royal Bank Of Canada Cuts American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target to $400.00

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada lowered American Express’s price target from $415 to $400 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, implying 31.31% potential upside from the $304.62 share price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: American Express has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $364.52, despite multiple recent Buy and Overweight recommendations.
• American Express exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $4.53 versus $4.41 anticipated, while institutional investors own 84.33% of the stock. However, the company faces a significant regulatory overhang from a $350 million anti-money-laundering penalty.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $415.00 to $400.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the payment services company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price target points to a potential upside of 31.31% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on AXP. Benchmark started coverage on American Express in a report on Monday, July 13th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised American Express from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 13th. BTIG Research cut their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $230.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of American Express from $396.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $364.52.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $304.62 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $325.07 and its 200 day moving average is $324.99. American Express has a 12-month low of $290.97 and a 12-month high of $387.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $205.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.08.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The payment services company reported $4.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.12. American Express had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 34.12%. The firm had revenue of $14.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.08 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 17.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of American Express

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Breakwater Capital Group boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 108.4% during the 3rd quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 3,895 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,184,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026 shares during the last quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 31.1% during the third quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 2,008 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. LifeGoal Investments LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $208,000. Monument Capital Management raised its position in American Express by 10.7% during the third quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,244 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Stableford Capital II LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,123,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting American Express

Here are the key news stories impacting American Express this week:

• Negative Sentiment: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency assessed a $350 million civil money penalty against American Express and issued a cease-and-desist order over significant deficiencies in its enterprise-wide anti-money-laundering program, particularly at its national bank subsidiary. Regulators said approximately $13 billion in suspected activity was inadequately monitored or reported over nearly 11 years. The penalty creates a direct financial cost and raises concerns about remediation expenses, regulatory oversight and reputational damage. OCC Assesses $350 Million Civil Money Penalty Against American Express
• Negative Sentiment: The action follows parallel regulatory enforcement involving the Federal Reserve and describes widespread, systemic breakdowns rather than an isolated control failure. Investors may therefore expect heightened compliance spending and continued scrutiny, although the $350 million charge appears manageable relative to American Express’s scale. American Express Shares Fall After $350 Million Anti-Money Laundering Penalty
• Positive Sentiment: American Express has launched a new corporate platform designed to strengthen its business-payments and corporate-services offering. If adoption is strong, the platform could support longer-term revenue growth and deepen relationships with commercial customers. American Express Launches New Corporate Platform
• Neutral Sentiment: Other recent initiatives—including guidance for merchants preparing for AI-driven “agent shopping” and expansion of its Centurion Lounge network—could support the brand and customer engagement, but are unlikely to offset the immediate regulatory headline.

American Express Company Profile

American Express Company NYSE: AXP is a global financial services company that provides payment, lending, travel and related products to consumers, small businesses and corporate customers. Its offerings include consumer and business charge and credit cards, payment solutions, commercial financing, deposit products and rewards programs.

American Express also operates a worldwide merchant network and provides businesses with payment acceptance services, transaction-processing capabilities and data-driven marketing solutions.

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