American Express (NYSE:AXP) Short Interest Up 10.7% in July

American Express (NYSE:AXP) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,370,000 shares, an increase of 10.7% from the June 30th total of 7,560,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,950,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $3,578,087.46. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 138,844 shares of company stock worth $32,404,735. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of AXP traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $253.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,167,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,000,542. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day moving average is $236.75 and its 200-day moving average is $225.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $256.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $247.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.70.

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.