American Express (NYSE:AXP) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

American Express (NYSE:AXP) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,350,000 shares, a decrease of 5.5% from the September 30th total of 8,840,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,750,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $3.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $273.84. The company had a trading volume of 725,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,907,664. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. American Express has a one year low of $148.33 and a one year high of $286.36. The firm has a market cap of $192.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $265.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $246.87.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 119.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,993,000 after acquiring an additional 21,508 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 102.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 6,329 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $1,881,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group boosted its position in American Express by 2,196.4% during the 2nd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after acquiring an additional 7,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 49.0% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 279,106 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $63,550,000 after purchasing an additional 91,760 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Compass Point started coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

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.