American Express (NYSE:AXP) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

American Express (NYSE:AXP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $282.95 and last traded at $282.95, with a volume of 6929 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $281.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AXP. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on American Express from $226.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on American Express from $223.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $242.33.

American Express Stock Up 1.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $259.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $243.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.71 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.89 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth $219,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in American Express by 4.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 319,726 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $86,710,000 after acquiring an additional 14,300 shares in the last quarter. NatWest Group plc increased its stake in American Express by 7.7% during the third quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 41,373 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $11,220,000 after acquiring an additional 2,963 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in American Express by 2.5% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 23,459 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $6,362,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $254,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.