Short Interest in American Express (NYSE:AXP) Grows By 10.7%

American Express (NYSE:AXP) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,370,000 shares, a growth of 10.7% from the June 30th total of 7,560,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,950,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,948.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at $4,602,896.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 138,844 shares of company stock worth $32,404,735. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,404,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in American Express by 1.0% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,315 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $983,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.9% in the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Willner & Heller LLC increased its position in American Express by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $253.04. The stock had a trading volume of 2,167,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,000,542. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $256.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.21. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $236.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $225.33.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of American Express from $247.00 to $263.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.