American Express (NYSE:AXP) Rating Lowered to Sell at BTIG Research

by · The Cerbat Gem

American Express (NYSE:AXP) was downgraded by research analysts at BTIG Research from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $230.00 target price on the payment services company’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 15.28% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $239.96.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on AXP

American Express Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $271.48 on Tuesday. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $276.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market cap of $195.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $254.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $241.19.

American Express (NYSE:AXP – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of American Express

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Waterloo Capital L.P. purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $231,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 73,343 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $13,740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $501,000. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its holdings in American Express by 266.0% in the 4th quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 63,472 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $11,891,000 after buying an additional 46,131 shares during the period. Finally, Vista Investment Management bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading