Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock

Key Points

• Truist Financial raised its price target for American Express (NYSE:AXP) from $348.00 to $375.00, projecting a potential upside of 15.21% from the previous close.
• American Express recently reported quarterly earnings of $4.08 per share, surpassing estimates, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 9.3% to $17.86 billion.
• The stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold," with 8 analysts rating it as a "Buy," 15 as "Hold," and 2 as "Sell," reflecting mixed sentiment among investors.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price target upped by investment analysts at Truist Financial from $348.00 to $375.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the payment services company's stock. Truist Financial's price target indicates a potential upside of 15.21% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $315.20.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $325.48 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $226.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. The company's 50 day moving average is $313.29 and its 200 day moving average is $291.89. American Express has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $332.46. 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, topping 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 business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in American Express by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in American Express by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. GHE LLC raised its position in American Express by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $5,052,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Triglav Skladi D.O.O. acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $8,162,000. Finally, WBI Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 52.3% during the fourth quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 6,566 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,949,000 after buying an additional 2,256 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

About American Express

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.