American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target Cut to $240.00 by Analysts at BTIG Research

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its target price lowered by analysts at BTIG Research from $272.00 to $240.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "sell" rating on the payment services company's stock. BTIG Research's price objective would suggest a potential downside of 9.36% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Compass Point dropped their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $295.05.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded down $2.53 during trading on Monday, reaching $264.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,939,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,845,934. American Express has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business's 50-day moving average price is $267.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $287.21. The firm has a market cap of $185.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in American Express in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by 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.