JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has raised its price target for American Express stock from $343 to $355, indicating a potential upside of 6.95% from the current price. The stock currently holds a "neutral" rating from the brokerage.
• Analyst ratings for American Express are mixed, with eight analysts recommending a Buy, fifteen suggesting a Hold, and three advising Sell, resulting in a consensus price target of $322.55.
• American Express reported strong quarterly earnings with an EPS of $4.08, exceeding estimates, and a year-over-year revenue increase of 9.3%, totaling $17.86 billion.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price objective lifted by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $343.00 to $355.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the payment services company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would suggest a potential upside of 6.95% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on AXP. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. DZ Bank cut shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Express from $297.00 to $336.00 and gave the company a "cautious" rating in a report on Monday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $322.55.

American Express Trading Up 0.5%

American Express stock opened at $331.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $320.43 and a 200-day moving average of $299.06. American Express has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $349.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The company has a market cap of $230.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.29.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in shares of American Express by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,073 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of American Express by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,019 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,619,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its position in shares of American Express by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 4,953 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,228 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $868,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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