Short Interest in American Express (NYSE:AXP) Declines By 5.5%

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

American Express Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $272.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $266.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $247.24. American Express has a 1 year low of $148.33 and a 1 year high of $286.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 42.2% during the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Founders Capital Management bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Compass Point began coverage on American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.